


Black Bird Feathers

by Inebriatednovelist



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, Assassins & Hitmen, Attempted Murder, Conspiracy, Corporate Espionage, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Mafia AU, UFC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 77,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26194231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inebriatednovelist/pseuds/Inebriatednovelist
Summary: [Mafia AU]Dust is the hot new drug ruling the pharmaceutical market and the drug trade of the underworld. Qrow Branwen is on the case to find out how such a volatile drug leaked into circulation when Schnee is the only company who owns the patent for the drug and they have no intentions of giving it up any time soon. With Dust's horrible side effects that corroding the mind and turning people into ravenous berserkers the news coined as Grimm, Qrow may find himself forced to delve deeper into his past than he might like to find the truth.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Qrow Branwen/Winter Schnee
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Three days.

Three days in the hospital that cost Qrow Branwen more money than he had to his name and even more than what his insurance would pay out. Worse yet, it was more money than he made in a month working for the Remnant Police Department. He could survive off ramen for a few months just to catch up, but that still meant he needed to work. This was against the better judgment of the doctors that let him out on the third day of course. Many of them urging he take time off to let his body heal properly. But Qrow being the stubborn old man he was, really, he was only in his late thirties, he refused to take time off if only because he knew he didn’t have that kind of luxury. He was thankful that his insurance at least paid for pain killers though. That would get him through the tougher times when his injuries started to act up.

Three bruised ribs, a broken and reset nose, one black eye that looked worse than it really was, and a concussion. The swelling in his brain had gone down enough for the doctors to release him, but also enough that he could take the pain killers the doctor’s prescribed him. The ribs still hurt like hell and they would for a while. The bruising along his nose and eye had started to fade, but the greenish and purple hue of the marks remained just barely.

He’d taken worse beating’s then this and his assailant knew that. This was just meant to look worse than it was for everyone else around him and send a message. When Qrow walked into the police station, he heard gasps and hushed conversations mass around him like a swarm of buzzing flies. He tuned most of it out, not caring what everyone said since he already knew what really happened and that it was exactly what everyone else would have already heard.

The message was simple.

Don’t. Fuck. With. Schnee.

The family, the company, their affiliates, legal or otherwise. While everyone knew they did it too, there wasn’t enough evidence to hold up in a court of a law to really have any repercussions. Even if there was, the most that would happen is that they’d get a mild reprimand or Schnee would throw someone under the bus while the bigger beast that was the Schnee company would keep trundling along. Trampling whatever sorry son of a gun just so happened to be unlucky enough to be under their feet.

Schnee already tried to stomp out Qrow a couple of times already, but he popped right back up every time there after. He knew one of these days his luck would run out. One of these days they’d get tired of Qrow’s games and prove that they were willing to get their hands a lot dirtier than just roughing up some Sargent with the police force. Qrow knew he couldn’t take that risk. He wasn’t some young punk anymore, he already had his niece to take care of at home and he’d be damned if he were to leave her an orphan again.

Qrow eased himself into his seat at his desk, grunting and sighing out in pain as he pushed his back into the chair and grit his teeth. Even with the pain, he couldn’t take his mind off what he’d just thought.

He took a deep breath, or about as deep as his body would let him with the sting in his ribs and tried to remove the thought from his mind. He produced an orange bottle from his pocket and looked at the sticky note he’d since taped there. The note reading “Get well soon, remember only twice a day. -Love Ruby~”

He smiled at the note and scoffed, popped open the pill bottle and took two, breaking them up with his teeth before swallowing the chunks in hopes that they’d take effect faster. The cheap off brand pain meds he took wouldn’t let him keep any food down, but they kept his mind clear. That’s what he needed right now more than ever after noticing the memo placed on his desk. He scanned through it and tightened his grip over the paper held in his hand till eventually his fury overcame his better sense and he crumpled the paper up and whipped it across the room.

Effective immediately, Sargent Branwen was now Officer Branwen. As if a demotion wasn’t bad enough, the station saw fit to assign him a superior officer that would act as his supervising official for the next year and a half. After which he might be eligible for a promotion again.

Schnee knew how to pull the right strings and push the wrong buttons. Where brute force wasn’t apt to get anything done some times a little shuffling of paper work could do a lot more. And of all things, they decided to keep an eye on him. Maybe they were smarter than he though. Maybe he was just paranoid. Pure Dust had to have gotten on the streets somehow though, and Schnee’s unwillingness to answer any questions as to how only gave Qrow every reason to suspect them.

Maybe the chief was right though. Qrow was a walking harassment lawsuit waiting to happen and going up against Schnee in a legal battle may as well be like trying to win the lottery with a scratch card.

Qrow pulled himself out of his haze at the sound of a few cat calls said under breath and a few more comments coming from around him. The eyes of every single officer in the station lay fixed on a singular figure walking through the station. Some with mouths hanging agape with awe, others with an attempt at a sultry smirk. When Qrow traced their line of sight over to what everyone had been looking at, he felt his heart sink into his stomach and a cold wash over his body.

Stark white hair tied tight with a no-nonsense bun. Fair and flawless complexion. Hard and stoic crystal blue eyes. That same hardness hadn’t come from an assumed authority, neither had the way she held herself with her hands behind her back and her chin up. The way the woman before Qrow looked down on him from under her nose made him sneer and bare his teeth. Qrow only now becoming aware of his own actions as the woman before him pressed her lips into a firm line across her stoic mask of a face.

“Are we going to have an issue officer?” Winter asked, her tone curt and sharp.

“What branch?” Qrow eyed winter from head to toe.

“Excuse me?” Winter retorted and took a step back, glaring down at Qrow now as she followed his eyes along his body.

Qrow stopped what Winter assumed to be ogling and snapped his attention back to her diamond like eyes. Hard, clear, nothing to them beyond the light they caught.

“Don’t flatter yourself, no one holds themselves like that normally; Navy, Army, or are you some special operations spook?”

“P.M.C.”

“Mercenary…”

“Private Military Contractor!”

“Semantics, now what the hell is a merc. doing here?”

“I’ll have you know that the only reason my family uses a security service-”

“Mercenary…” Qrow interrupted.

“Security service!” Winter snapped and slammed her hands down onto Qrow’s desk. “Is because of people like you refusing to protect our family in favor of meddling in our affairs.”

“She’s also here on loan to the RPD for the next year and a half as well.” Chief of Police Glynda Goodwitch said once summoned out of her office by the commotion. The moment she entered the room, everyone else found something better to do rather than watching the drama unfold between Winter and Qrow. At the sound of her voice, Qrow pulled himself up straight in his chair and assumed a more well-mannered stance. “As a show of faith between both parties, you two will be working together and Specialist Schnee here will be acting as your superior officer and supervisor from here on out.”

“Since when does the RPD hire mercen-” Qrow paused and gave Winter a side long glance before looking back to Glynda. “PMCs?”

“Since the head of Schnee corporation demanded they have your job Specialist Schnee here offered him a compromise.” Glynda began and leaned down close to Qrow so that only he and Winter could hear her. “He knows about who you’re related to as well, you’re already on thin ice as it is Qrow. You’re a friend of a friend, but that doesn’t make you bullet proof.”

The RPD made it a point to keep Qrow’s last name out of any papers or any records they could. For obvious reasons however, it wasn’t possible for them to totally strike his name from public records. Even a legal name change would do little to keep any would-be-sleuth from finding out his real last name. Because of that, Qrow saw no real point in changing it anyway and it was because of his last name that gave him the keys to the underground that most officers would only dream of having.

“This is borderline extortion…” Qrow said and turned away from both women, crossing his arms over his chest like an impudent child.

“Is there somewhere the officer and I can speak privately?” Winter asked Glynda who looked down at Qrow and cocked her brow at him.

Qrow looked back up at her and sneered before he hopped to his feet and pulled the pistol from the holster at his hip. He set the gun down onto his desk and looked up at Winter, locking eyes with her for a moment before nodding to a closed off room just some ways away from where they were standing.

“Interrogation room down the hall, lets go.” Qrow said and started down the hall with Winter following. The two entering the small room with a table bolted to the floor and a one-way mirror reflecting the room. Qrow looked over at his reflection and then over to Winter’s once he saw movement. With his current injuries, he couldn’t react fast enough to stop her from drawing a revolver on him.

Winter pressed the gun to the side of Qrow’s head and pulled back the hammer. The cold steel pressed up against Qrow’s temple, digging into the skin.

“This room isn’t sound proof you know.” Qrow said and raised his hands to the sides of his head and turned around to face Winter fully.

“My father was able to have his own soldiers assault you in broad daylight, what makes you think I can’t get away with shooting you in the head here and now?”

“For starters, the fact that you haven’t done it already, so there has to be some other reason why you’re pointing a gun at me right?” Qrow asked and traced his eyes along the revolver. 45. Caliber, not a retail gun either. It was custom made from barrel to handle. He might be able to appreciate it if he wasn’t staring down the wrong end of it.

“Precisely, I could have killed you here and now and I would have gotten away with it, why do you think you were put in the hospital and not killed outright when we had the chance?” Winter began and pulled back the revolver, easing the hammer back before deftly returning it to its holster, all without taking her eyes from Qrow. “I’m well aware of the kind of influence my family has over this city and just about everything else that goes on in it. More so, I’m more aware of my father’s dealings than anything else and even then, I only know what he wants me to know. He’s taken the family business and turned it into something of a monster. My Grandfather wanted to help people and save lives, it’s clear my father just wants to profit from their suffering.”

“I mean that isn’t right, but he also isn’t breaking the law so unless you’re going somewhere with this then…” Qrow gestured Winter to get to the point.

“I’m going to level with you under one condition, I’ll be honest with you if you’re honest with me, deal?” Winter asked and offered out her hand to Qrow who just stared on at Winter for a moment before shaking her hand. He winced and bared his teeth at the strength of her grip and wrenched his hand away the moment he had the ability to.

“So, then I take it you’re not just Daddy’s princess playing with his toy soldiers then?” Qrow asked and flexed his hand and massaged the knuckles.

“No, I volunteered to join the PMC unit my father owns since they spend more time with him then anyone in my family does, I thought I might be able to overhear a conversation or two, get some sort of idea as to why and how pure Dust is being dealt on the streets.”

“You said it yourself, if you wanted to kill me, you would have done it by now but that doesn’t inspire the most confidence in a partnership between the two of us. So how and why do I play into your game?”

“We start working together and my father thinks that this particular thorn in his side is being watched constantly so you won’t act out but, in all actuality, I’m going to be the best bet you have to find the underlying cause of this case. Now you can start by telling me why my father saw fit to beat you within an inch of your life…”


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_~One week earlier~_

Qrow stepped out of the shower and tied a towel around his waist before he swiped his hand across the mirror, whipping away the steam and water that had condensed there. What greeted him was the face of an old and withered man. Deep lines cut into the underside of his eyes, steel grey hair with streaks of white like scratching marks. A certain slouch to his upper brow that made his eyes look half lidded and took away much of the youth that showed on his otherwise chiseled jaw and tight face.

The light dusting of scruff along his jaw line and cheeks only added to the illusion of his age. Qrow dragged a hand under his chin and felt the prickle of the hairs beneath his hand. He was still a younger man. Not quite the boy he used to be, but he’d seen more than most people twice his age had. For today though, he needed to walk, talk, act, and look like a man about his age or younger, which meant he might have to work a little magic.

A quick clean shave with a razor to clean up his face, a touch up of hair dye along the grey streaks of his hair to darken it up just a tad. A little makeup under the eyes to cover the wrinkles and he could pass for a man that was just out of his twenties. Qrow smiled at the young man that looked back at him in the mirror, laughed at how silly the thought was and shook his head.

He dried and dressed himself and stepped out into the one-bedroom apartment. Qrow gave his niece Ruby the only room to give her some privacy while Qrow made his stay on the couch in the living room. Upon stepping out into the living room, Zwei, Ruby’s Swedish Shepard perked up and cocked his fury head at Qrow. His tiny legs bounding over towards him and taking a cautious smell before he finally realized who it was and yipped with a wag of his tail.

“Yeah it’s still me big guy,” Qrow said and ruffled Zwei’s head before opening Ruby’s door and gesturing the dog inside. “Now go wake up Ruby for me.” Qrow said and watched as the small dog took a running leap from the threshold of Ruby’s doorway and plopped right down onto her abdomen with a thud.

Amid the chaos, Qrow snuck into the kitchen and pulled an orange bottle from the medicine cabinet. The label read “Ruby Rose. Anti-Seizure medication. Take orally once a day.” And just beneath that was a snow flake symbol synonymous with the Schnee corporation. Every single day he looked at the bottle, he wanted nothing more than to chuck it out the window. But he knew he had to shelf his pride for Ruby, knowing that even with Dust being an added ingredient, Ruby would be worse off with any of the symptoms that came with any other brand of medication. Couple this with withdrawal symptoms and he couldn’t bring himself to give Tai Yang’s little girl that kind of life.

He took two of the pills and crushed them up into a fine powder and dropped it into the bottom of a glass. He added orange juice to the mixture and a little extra sugar on top of that to help it go down that much easier.

When Ruby walked out of her room, Zwei hanging from her arms with his little feet dangling beneath him, her tired eyes flashed open as she recoiled at the sight of her uncle. She brought a hand up to rub the sleep from her eyes and blinked at Qrow a few more times before she relaxed and gave him a tired smile. She shuffled over to the kitchen and set Zwei down to give her uncle a tired hug and nuzzled into his side.

“You look nice, what’s the occasion?” Ruby asked with a tired whisper.

“I got a business trip to go on for work,” Qrow said and set a hand down on top of Ruby’s head. She looked up at him with a shimmer to her eyes and a protruding lower lip. Trying to get him to buckle under her signature pout. “You know you can’t come with me; besides I’ll only be gone a few days. You’ll have free range of the house though, save for when the neighbors come to check up on you so be sure to clean up any chaos by the time they get here.” Qrow winked at smiled at her before giving Ruby the glass of juice.

Ruby sneered at the glass and pursed her lips into a flat line across her face.

“Come on kiddo, you know I don’t like making you take it just as much as you hate having to in the first place, you know the drill, just like taking a shot.” Qrow said and circled the small glass around in his hand.

Reluctantly, Ruby grabbed the tumbler from her uncle and looked off to the side. Qrow could tell she was dreading every moment of it, but due to her inability to take pills normally, she had to deal with drinking it in whatever he mixed it in. Ruby took a deep breath, place the rim of the glass at her lip, opened wide and knocked the contents of the glass back. She swallowed hard and slammed the glass down onto the counter, letting out a sigh. She whipped her mouth with her hand.

“Need a chaser?” Qrow asked and offered out the bottle of orange juice. Ruby just smirked and shook her head. “Taking it like a champ, that’s my girl. Now I gotta head out, make sure you get to school on time while I’m gone alright?” Qrow said and started for the door.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Ruby called out just as Qrow had one foot out the door. He rolled his eyes at himself and scoffed under his breath. How could he have ever forgotten?

Qrow turned to a poster of mixed martial arts fighter he hung up on the wall. She had long blond hair, striking purple eyes that everyone swore changed color under the right lights, and a furious look to her face as her picture on the poster had her lunging forward with her fist bared. Underneath the poster the caption read “Yang Xiao Long middle weight champion of the men’s league.” Qrow nodded to the image of Ruby’s older sister and taped his knuckles against Yang’s. An old ritual they did every single day.

“In it for the long haul!” Ruby cheered, fist in the air.

“In it for the long haul…” Qrow said. “I’ll be back before the Saturday night fight, we gotta cheer on our girl.”

Three days.

It should only take three more days and he’d have a break through on the dust case he’d been working since last year. It was July now and Qrow had made a breakthrough on his connections.

The case began a year and a half ago after an incident occurred in the middle of the city. Some lunatic beat a man to death in the middle of the street with his bare hands, the body of the victim had their skull caved in till it was nearly flat. A display of strength far beyond what normal humans should have been capable of. The assailant themselves may as well have been inhuman anyway. How fast and long they ran through the city, the amount it took for the RPD to finally take them down. The mass destruction they brought in their wake. It was like something primal.

The incident ended with police stand off with the nameless assailant that took nothing short of over thirty-five rounds to the chest and a couple of shot gun blasts. Anything else, stun guns, pepper spray, beanbag rounds, non-lethal shots. None of it did a damn thing to stop this person and the RPD had no other choice.

Qrow remembered people telling him these stories. They told everyone how the man howled just before charging forward. His eyes wide like they were about to pop out of their sockets, his muscles bulging out of his body threatening to rip through his skin. Teeth bared out with slobber and drool and foam spraying in complete disorder. Qrow tried to imagine it before deciding he didn’t want to anymore and shook the thought away.

To keep himself focused, he ran over what the case file about the incident.

Medical crews took the body to the city morgue and an autopsy performed. The cause of death wasn’t a concern, but the reason for an outburst like this sparked curiosity among the medical staff and the police department. While fear mongering spread through every news outlet looking to sell their story.

With much of the torso destroyed and the victim nearly bled dry because of their wounds, the cornier had to preform a tox screen on the brain. The test came back positive for drugs which was no real surprise, but the specific type of drug found in the brain was Dust and nothing else. Upon further investigation of the brain, it showed signs almost like decay. Whole parts of the brain sagged in on themselves like a bruised piece of fruit. Other parts of the brain betrayed signs of a long running addiction that ravaged the mind.

A few medical journals that flew under the radar mentioned the habit-forming properties of Dust and asked the question if we can weigh the good with the bad. This was before they all mysteriously vanished however. The only traces of which being vague memories of the study. But the evidence was right in front of them now and only growing as more of the same cases as before started happening with increasing frequency.

Crazed lunatics addicted to Dust going on a rampage, causing property damage and mass casualties and civil unrest. With Schnee holding the patent over the Dust formula, they had some questions to answer. The city didn’t see it that way. Despite numerous pleas on the part of Qrow and the RPD, they were not about to issue a warrant on a hunch alone. This meant Qrow had to do things the hard way.

Calling in a few favors, Qrow bought miscellaneous drugs from several dealers around the city. A few street drugs with a few basic pharmaceuticals like pain killers. Ironically enough, the prescription drugs were never Schnee product despite the dealers claiming as much. The lab techs at the RPD confirming this when they took a small sample and tested it for Dust.

Qrow’s big break came when he had a small bud of weed tested for anything unnatural and the test came back positive for Dust. Enough concentration to even remove the effects of the THC and no doubt get what ever sorry customer hooked right from the moment they took a drag. They were in business.

Slowly but surely Qrow managed to earn the dealer’s trust. He only dealt in proxies, having other people pick up the drugs and drop them off for him. After testing a small sample to confirm that they had Dust, the lab techs sent the drugs sent to the incinerator. Weed wasn’t the only tainted drug the dealers were slinging either. Cocaine, meth, flakka, anything and everything one could get on the streets, it was all tainted with high traces of Dust.

As this business partnership went on, Qrow gradually started buying more of the same product in higher and higher does. First just being a small bag of cocaine, no more than to get someone high for a few minutes. Then a larger does known as an eight ball. Half ounces and so on and so fourth till he managed to get his hands on several kilos of crack. This, of course, caught the attention of the real supplier after the dealer couldn’t keep up anymore. What they thought was that the proxies working for Qrow weren’t messing around anymore and were more than willing and able to buy in. Now all Qrow had to do was to head off to the meeting place agreed upon only a few weeks ago and seal the deal. After that, Qrow would be one giant leap closer to finding out just how Dust made it on the streets.

Qrow pulled himself from the ramblings of his inner mind after throwing himself back after a black car pulled out into the middle of the cross walk in front of him. He growled at the car and was about to unleash a string of curses before a young girl with long pink and brown hair stepped out. Her eyes were two different colors, one pink and the other brow, just like her hair. Qrow furrowed his brow at the girl before seeing her gesture him into the car. Inside a man’s voice called out.

“I know this isn’t the agreed meeting spot, but I thought I’d save you some steps.” The man’s voice said. He leaned into the light of the day. He wore a white dress coat and black slacks, a bowler hat adorning his head with a lock of red hair coming down over one eye. He smirked at crow, tapping the cigar he held in his hand to knock the ashes off the end and nodded for Qrow to join him.

Qrow looked over to the girl with two different colored eyes and noticed the way she smiled at him. It was sweet, almost innocent, save for the emotion that lay just beyond her eyes. Something about the way she held Qrow in her gaze made him realize this wasn’t an offer he should take lightly.

Qrow stepped into the car and sat across from the man with the cigar, his back to the driver’s seat. Once the pink haired girl stepped inside and closed the door, the car started to move. Qrow tried to make a mental note of where they were by trying look out the windows and trace the streets in his head but found that was impossible with how dark the tint on the windows had been. The only real illumination coming from a light at the roof of the car.

“I take it you’re the contact I was told to meet?” Qrow said and leaned back in his chair, slinging his arm along the back and assuming a relaxed stance.

“That’s right and where are my manners; you can call me Roman and this little oddity right here,” Roman said and placed a hand at the girl’s head and smiled at her. “Is my body guard Neo.”

Qrow cocked a brow at Neo, scoffed and looked back to Roman. “You have a little girl to watch your back?”

“Would you like me to prove why she’s my body guard?” Roman asked, glaring at Qrow from under the brim of his hat while Neo looked all too eager to abide this request.

“I’ll… take your word for it.” Qrow said and lowered his arms to his sides, keeping his periphery trained on Neo now.

“That’s probably for the best,” Roman said with a glaring smile. “Now either you’re dumb enough to think you can buy out my supply or your smart enough to buy in to my little business venture. Either way that amount of product you’ve been buying is apt to get someone’s attention eventually. You’re lucky it’s mine.”

“Lucks got nothing to do with it, just a smart man who can appreciate an even more brilliant man, doesn’t take a genius to figure out what you’re lacing your stuff with. Make sure to keep your customer base loyal while catering to all kinds of people. Casual, hard core, all of them addicted to your brand and only your brand. Gotta say I’m kicking myself for not thinking of it first.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere fast, cut to the chase…” Roman said and watched as Qrow nodded his head and reached inside of his shirt. When Neo flinched, Qrow paused and looked to Roman as if asking permission to continue. Roman placed a hand at Neo’s knee and she calmed down, allowing Qrow to produce a long envelope from inside of his shirt.

The envelope bulged, stuffed till it was ready to burst full of bills. Qrow leaned forward and offered out the small brick only to have it snatched away from his hand by Neo who opened it up and fingered her way across bills. After Neo finished scrutinizing Qrow’s offer, she turned to Roman, smiled and nodded his head.

“Flattery won’t get me anywhere. I know that will get me somewhere.” Qrow said and peered over his shoulder at the driver at the sound of the breaks squealing and the car coming to a stop.

“Quite the generous offer you’ve made,” Roman said and stepped out of the vehicle with Neo in tow, gesturing Qrow to do the same.

Qrow poked his head out from the door of the car and looked around to take in his surroundings. Several shipping containers all labeled with the Schnee family logo, a single white snow flake across the side. Custom shipping containers didn’t come cheap, but it also meant they didn’t have to share with anyone else and had their own private means of shipment. Before he could take any more details in, Qrow felt a hand clamp down onto his neck and Roman wrench him forward, throwing him into the dirt.

When he scrambled back to his feet, the last thing he saw was Roman and Neo stepping back into the car and Roman waving him off.

“Thanks for the offer Branwen, but I think I like going solo better, give my regards to Jacques when you see him!” Roman shouted and cackled as his car peeled out of the shipping yard, leaving marks along the pavement as they ran along leaving Qrow inside of the Schnee shipping yard.

_~Present day~_

“Then what happened?” Winter asked and kept her eyes trained on the floor with her arms behind her back. Through the entirety of the story Qrow told, she’d paced the length of the room, leaving Qrow to stand with his back against the wall, watching her walk back and fourth over and over as if she were trying to cut a line into the floor.

“What happened next is that security was on me faster than I could react. They cuffed me and took me off to the offices and I got to have a conversation with your old man. He interrogated me for a few hours, beat the living hell out of me and after a while I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was in the hospital.” Qrow said and ran a hand across his ribs where the memory of a strike had still ached.

“And the man that set you up?” Winter said, finally stopping her pacing to look up at Qrow.

“Like I said, the only thing I know about him is that his name is Roman. Red hair, bowler hat, smokes a cigar. He also knew my name. I’ve working that case for a little over a year and my record as an officer was private. The only thing anyone would know about me is what they could get from public records and even then, it’s just my first and last name.” Qrow said.

“You were set up…” Winter mused more so to herself.

“No shit, daddy didn’t seem to know anything about it or he was just playing his cards right since he seemed to insist on letting me live but he made it clear he could have killed me on the spot at any time.” Qrow said.

“Hmmm…” Winter began and produced a small notebook from the inside of her jacket along with a pen. She scrawled something down onto the note pad and ripped the paper off before offering it out to Qrow. “Here.”

“What is this?” Qrow asked and looked at the note.

“Call your insurance provider and give them this information, your medical bills, prescriptions, anything you might need will be taken care of from here on out.” Winter said and nodded to the paper when she saw the look in Qrow’s eye and how he was near ready to rip it to shreds.

“You think you can buy my loyalty?” Qrow asked.

“No, but I think I can earn it. I also want you to take the rest of the day off. You won’t be any help to me or this investigation right now. If anyone can find out who sold you out, it would be easier for me than it would be for you.” Winter said and started for the door, but just as she was about to leave, she stopped herself, turned to Qrow and said: “And… get well soon officer.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

“UNCLE QROW!” Ruby shouted at the top of her lungs causing her uncle to fling himself from where he was sleeping on the couch and hit the floor with a hard thud.

Qrow grimaced at the pain and knocked his head against the floor, grinding his teeth together at how he’d agitated his previous wounds. He’d been off the pain meds for some time, choosing not to take them if only to get his appetite back and using aspirin and ibuprofen instead. They weren’t nearly as effective and more often than he’d like, he turned to alcohol to curb the pain that much more, knowing that taking a shot of whisky with some aspirin would kill him a lot slower than it would with painkillers. This, of course, led to him sleeping a lot more, but he was recovering none the less.

He pushed himself up to see a Ruby bouncing in place with a letter held over her mouth to hide the grin that spread from ear to ear. At that smile, he felt a tinge of pain wash away. When he got to his feet, Ruby thrust the letter into his chest, ordering him to read it now.

“Do you have any idea what time it-” Qrow began and looked at the clock on his cellphone, seeing that it was just noon. His shoulders slumped and he skimmed over the letter. With each line he read, his heart leaped higher and higher into his chest while his eyes went wide. He threw the letter off to the side, hopped over the back of the couch and scooped up Ruby in his arms, hoisted her into the air and twirled her around like she was a little girl again. “YOU’RE GOING TO COLLEGE!” Qrow shouted with elation.

“I’m going to college!” Ruby shouted with him and giggled, wrapping her arms around Qrow’s chest and holding onto him just loose enough to keep from making his ribs act up again.

“How’d you find this place?” Qrow asked and picked up the paper again and read over the letter once more.

“I applied for a scholarship, turns out they have one for home schooled kids that will let me get a GED on top of being able to take my college classes for my engineering degree.” Ruby said and hopped onto the couch to read the letter again with Qrow and noticed how his brows furrowed for a moment and knew he noticed what she’d hoped he would have just glanced over.

At the top left corner of the paper was a blue and white crest of a snowflake with the initials S-I-T across it with white lettering. The Schnee Institute of Technology. Ruby leaned forward and saw Qrow grimace at the paper for a moment and sigh.

“I know you don’t like them very much, but its only for two years to get my GED and start my mechanical engineering degree, after that I plan on transferring to Anima University, you know the gold standard of education… get it… gold, cause its…” Ruby gave a timid smile with a pair of finger guns pointed at Qrow who was trying his hardest to hide the smirk slowly forming on his face that eventually broke into a snickering laugh.

“Did they seriously go with a chemistry pun for their school?” Qrow said with a chuckle.

Ruby sighed with relief at the way Qrow cracked a smile but couldn’t help but feel her own happiness wash away at the way Qrow looked at the paper again.

“I know Schnee isn’t known for being the best kind of people in your eyes,” Ruby said and laced her fingers with Qrow’s and gripped his hand tight. “But I read the fine print and there isn’t anything that they are going to try and do with any student loans or stuff like that. The scholarship just gets me a GED and a letter of recommendation for my desired school.”

Qrow issued a deep sigh and set the paper down and gripped Ruby’s hand tight in hers. For a moment, he stared off into nothingness as memories of the past consumed him. Ruby saw this a few times already and knew what he was thinking. She couldn’t help but think of it herself now and just rested her head on Qrow’s shoulder.

“Your mother would be so proud of you Ruby… I’m so proud of you.” Qrow said and brought Ruby in to peck a kiss to her forehead. “Now enough moping!” Qrow said, his mood and tone flipping with a switch. “My girl is going to college, this means we gotta celebrate.”

“Can we afford that?” Ruby asked with concern showing to her face as she eyed her uncle’s torso and still fading bruises.

“Work just changed my insurance policy, so that means I got some money to throw around. What do you say we go out for desert after we watch your sister beat some asshole silly for twelve rounds?” Qrow said and saw Ruby’s eyes light up.

“That’s boxing.” Ruby giggled and wrapped her arms around Qrow again.

“Whatever.” Qrow said and looked at the paper again and ruffled Ruby’s hair, moving to stand up. “Says here they want to give us a tour too so let’s get going.”

“Can we take the bike?” Ruby asked and started for the door with.

“Yeah we can take the bike, I’ll even let you drive.”

“Really!?”

“Hell no! Your dad would crawl out of his grave just to kill me. Now get your helmet and let’s go!”

~Elsewhere~

Weiss Schnee stormed through the halls of the Schnee manor, her heels clicking on the floor with a paper crinkled in hand around a clenched fist. Her teeth bared, her shoulders tensed and a fire burning in her chest. Who does he think he is, Weiss thought to herself and stopped just short of the court yard.

Winter waited for her just outside, a tray of small crumpets and cookies layered on a plate with care while two place settings were set. One sitting before Winter and the other left empty for Weiss to join her.

Weiss saw the steam bellowing from the pot left on the table and thought to herself that some tea and the company of her sister would do her mind some good. She smoothed out her dress, rolled her shoulders and picked her head up. With one last roll of her neck to remove the nerves that she carried, she stepped out onto the court yard patio and sat down across from her sister after one of their butlers pulled her chair out for her. Weiss crossed her legs, sat up straight and set the crumpled letter onto the table.

Winter’s eyes darted over to the letter and noticed the logo on the front. Their family crest with the initials S-I-T across it. Winter cocked a brow over at Weiss who avoided her gaze in favor of smiling and thanking their butler.

“Klein, would you excuse us for a moment?” Winter asked and leaned over to pour Weiss a cup of tea before doing the same for herself. Klein nodding his head and silently departed. “Father is making you go to the family college, isn’t he?”

With a sigh and a nod of her head, Weiss explained the situation at hand. Their father Jacques had an image to keep up. Weiss knew that, but a technical college was the last place Weiss intended to go to college. Jacques, however, wasn’t about to hear any of it and told Weiss that it would look bad on the family image if she were to go to a competitor’s school. To convince Weiss otherwise, Jacques told her that it would not only be for only two years, but Jacques would pay for her degree in full. As if that mattered.

“Our father is only interested in making money off of this school and he’s just going to use me as a me as a means of advertisement.” Weiss complained and sipped her tea, giving herself a break from her venting.

“Pray tell, what are you looking to get out of college, what degree are you seeking anyway?” Winter asked.

“Father wants me to get a degree in something that SIT offers, something like an Advertising Sales Agent.” Weiss rolled her eyes at the thought and supported her head on her hand, looking out over the distance before feeling Winter’s eyes burn into the side of her head. She realized what she was doing and promptly removed her elbow from the table.

“I didn’t ask what father wants you to do, I asked what you want to do.” Winter asked and watched as Weiss recoiled at the question. For a moment, she had to think on this while Winter watched the gears turn in her head.

“I want to be a lawyer, but not like the ones our family has, a real lawyer, one that helps people abused by those who think they have more power than everyone else. Someone that can be in their corner and say-”

“I’m with you.” Winter completed and took Weiss’s hand in hers. Weiss, after a moment of shock, took her sister’s hand and gripped it and saw that she meant those words and felt her prior anger wash away in favor of a courage and drive to take its place. “In any case, a technical institute won’t be all bad. You can get your minor right away and transfer to a university later and concentrate on your legal degree. A minor won’t give you a leg up per se, but it might offer a set of skills to help you later.”

Weiss nodded at the thought of it; thinking perhaps her stay at SIT wouldn’t be for nothing. At the very least, having SIT behind her would compel a few more universities to reconsider her application. My sister, Weiss thought to herself, ever the opportunist.

“I do wonder though,” Winter began. “Why go for a legal degree when you could just become a police officer with an associate’s degree?”

“While an associate’s degree as a police officer is probably advisable for a legal degree, I don’t want to become someone that is bound to a chain of command and what someone else tells me I can and can’t do to help others out.” Weiss said and allowed herself a smile at the way Winter beamed at her answer.

“You want to do the most good for the most people.” Winter said.

“Noblesse Oblige.” Weiss replied.

An old French phrase from their grandfather that translated to ‘Nobel Obligation’ the philosophy being that those with privilege have an obligation to help those without. Their grandfather Nicholas Schnee being the truest man to this cause. A man who came from nothing, built an empire and passed from this world as a true humanitarian. His actions only now overshadowed by his son-in-law’s practices.

“In any case, the school is offering a tour for the new students and they’ll allow us to sign up for classes afterwards, provided you’re free…” Weiss began and paused for a moment.

“I believe I can make time to see just what our family, or rather our father, has invested himself in, have the chauffeur pull around front and we’ll leave now.” Winter said and Weiss nodded, heading off to follow her sister’s orders.

With the car pulled around and Winter and Weiss inside, they started off towards the school, the drive spent in silence. Weiss with too many nerves to make small talk and Winter out of habit from her own days of schooling. Winter sat with her hands in her lap and her back set straight to the point where her head nearly touched the ceiling. Weiss looking to do the same after witnessing the stance her sister took out of the corner of her eye. When the car pulled to a stop and the two stepped out, Winter ordered the driver to come back around upon her call and informed him they wouldn’t be long.

The school itself was unremarkable and was like any other school within the city. Several buildings all marked with areas of expertise spread out over numerous blocks. Libraries, lecture halls, theaters and more along with a signature white and blue pallet on every building giving it that uncanny sterile feel to the campus. Winter thought to herself that this place was very different from her days a naval military academy what with kids lounging around in the grass and wearing whatever they pleased. It made Weiss and Winter in their stark white clothes stand out even more. Winter even going as far as to think to herself that they may as well have advertised that they were the daughters of the man who owned the school.

“It’s…” Winter began. “Expected I suppose.”

“I have to disagree, I thought I’d be more structured I guess, more uniforms and schedules.” Weiss said and gestured out towards the school. “This just seems like a normal school.”

“Is that going to be a problem?” Winter said without so much as looking at her younger sister while Winter herself held her arms behind her back and her feet apart in a standard military parade rest.

“Not at all, I guess it makes me feel more comfortable.” Weiss said.

“I’m glad that S-I-T can do that,” A kind voice called out as a woman with red hair and green eyes said as she stepped around before Winter and Weiss. Both women taken aback by the woman and athlete that stood before them now.

The one and only, five-time Vytal festival gold medalist and cereal mascot Pyrrha Nikos. Despite her star-studded status however, Pyrrha had this approachable air to her. The way she casually mimicked Winter’s stance, the shadow of a smile constantly playing on her lips, the kindness to her eyes and voice. All of it made the celebrity that stood before the two of them look and feel like any other student before them.

“I can tell by the look on your faces that you already know who I am, so I don’t think there will be need for introductions, but I will give one later for everyone else’s sake once they arrive. We should only have two more students joining us for the tour.”

“Ms Nikos.” Weiss began.

“Please call me Pyrrha.”

“Pyrrha, what is it you’re doing here of all places, I should think you have better opportunities elsewhere and I doubt you would need any compensation my family-” Weiss caught herself after she had said it, blushing at the shameless self-promotion that she belonged to the Schnee family. “The Schnee family might give you.”

“I thought I recognized you and your sister, you must be the Schnee daughters, it’s an honor to have you both here and even more so to have you join our school Ms. Schnee,” Pyrrha said and offered out her hand to Weiss.

“You can call me Weiss from now on, please.” Weiss said and shook hands with Pyrrha before jumping out of her skin at the roar of an engine and the constant growl of a motorcycle pulling up to the gates of the school.

Winter looked off in the direction of the bike and felt her shoulder’s drop and a breath of air leave her lungs in stark exasperation. She recognized that scruff and grey hair from anywhere.

Qrow pulled up to the gates of the school and cocked a brow at Winter and eyed her from head to toe with a sneer and a scoff. He shut the bike off and dismounted with Ruby hopping from the back seat and hanging the helmet on the bike.

“Winter,” Qrow greeted.

“Qrow,” Winter retorted, standing off against Qrow and keeping just a ridged stance as him. “I see you’re feeling well enough, I also saw you-” Winter began and noticed the sneer on Qrow’s face contort into a growl and thought better of finishing her prior thought. Instead she chose to acknowledge Ruby standing beside him. “I see you brought your… sister?”

Ruby covered her mouth to hide the giggle on her face while Qrow couldn’t help but smile at the comment himself. Ruby and Qrow looked to one another and shrugged before looking back to Wiess and Winter. Qrow nodded over to Wiess and offered out his hand to her to introduce himself.

“Hey kiddo, I’m Qrow, I work with your sister over here and that’s my niece Ruby, looks like you’ll be going to school together.” Qrow said and noted the way Weiss only nodded to his hand and took a step away from him.

“A pleasure to meet you.” Weiss said.

“RUBY!”

“Jaune?” Ruby furrowed her brows at the sound of the familiar voice and saw a blond-haired boy rolling into the parking lot on a beat down and rusted bike. She noticed the look of worry on Jaune’s face and soon after realized why.

Jaune’s hands flexed over the breaks but the bike had no signs of slowing down while the front tire wobbled from side to side threatening to fall from the bike itself. With no real signs of stopping a crash landing seemed emanate. Even worse, Weiss hadn’t had enough time to even react before she finally took note of all the shouting and only braced for impact before feeling the air around her whoosh with movement. When Weiss opened her eyes again, she saw the bike propped up on the front wheel, Jaune still hanging onto the bike with Pyrrha stopping it dead in its tracks. Both Jaune and Weiss sharing the same expression of shock and amazement at the sheer display of strength Pyrrha unleashed right now.

Pyrrha meanwhile only smiled at Jaune and lowered him to the ground and deployed the kickstand of his bike for him before giving him a greeting like she had with the rest.

“Hello, you must be our third, Mr. Jaune Arc I presume?” Pyrrha asked and beamed a smile towards Jaune.

“Yeah that’s me, but I’m more interested in you my dear~” Jaune said and slid past Pyrrha to sidle himself up beside Weiss, successfully invading her personal space. “Name’s Jaune Arc by the way, you must be that Weiss girl I hear so much about, fancy that you’re coming to this school of all places.”

“Yes, fancy that I will be attending the very school that shares my surname.” Weiss said and took a step away from Jaune, not even giving him the courtesy of a passing glance.

“Jaune ohmygosh you’re going to school here too?” Ruby said and hopped over to Jaune’s side. Jaune and Ruby being old friends from high school. Just a pair of nerds that didn’t quite fit in anywhere else but with one another. Never once had they ever been romantically involved and the thought never crossed their minds since they both decided their bond was deep enough without feelings of romance muddling things.

“Fancy seeing you here kid, never took you for the college type.” Qrow said and tapped his fist against Jaune’s shoulder and scoffed at the way the boy rubbed where Qrow had hit him.

“Thanks Mr. Branwen…?” Jaune said.

“Whoa kid let’s leave that Mister stuff at the door, makes me sound old, you can just call me by my first name.” Qrow said and winked at a green haired girl he’d noticed eyeing him. When she giggled, Qrow smiled and wagged a brow before snapping himself back into focus at the feel of Ruby’s elbow nudging his ribs.

“Right I believe if we are all ready and have introductions out of the way, my name is Pyrrha Nikos and I’ll be your tour guide for today.”

As the group of them proceeded onto the campus grounds, the green haired girl that passed Qrow by watched them from the parking lot. The moment the group was well out of ear shot, she produced a cellphone from her pocket, pressed a key to speed dial a number and held it up to her ear. The phone chimed once before someone picked up without saying a word.

“Cinder? You’ll never guess who I just saw…” Emerald said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Qrow walked shoulder to shoulder with Winter while Pyrrha prattled on about how prestigious S-I-T was as well as all the opportunities here. The whole of the tour feeling more like an infomercial than a means of helping the students find their way around. Eventually Qrow managed to tune it out and honed his senses outward. He checked around the area, listened in on conversations around him, all while keeping a more than casual stance that would make anyone glance over him. An old trick he picked up from his far younger days. When he realized someone caught him staring, all it took was a wink and a smile to dismiss or a curt nod of the head to placate any suspicions the subject of his attention might have had.

Despite his attention being near everywhere at once, it always came back towards Winter who walked at his side. Her stance in stark contrast to that of his own. Qrow knew she was military and figured that the way she held herself was about as casual as she could get. Hands folded behind her back, shoulders rolled but slightly relaxed. Very dignified and very noticeable. So much so that Qrow wondered if it was really him everyone was staring at or if he just caught them staring at Winter.

Winter’s eyes turned towards Qrow, her head not even moving an inch while she held him in a side long glance that held with it an unspoken order. Qrow scoffed at her and turned his attention forward only to collide with the green haired girl from before. Quick reflexes kept him from falling flat on his ass and allowed him to catch her before she fell herself. Emerald wrapped her arms around Qrow’s waist to keep herself stable before pulling her hands back and taking a step away from him. Her hands folding behind her back in a casual stance.

“We have got to stop running into each other like this, people might start talking.” Emerald winked and half sneered half smiled over at Winter’s barley contained reaction to this.

“We can always give them something to talk about.” Qrow responded with a charmed smile to which Emerald playfully punched Qrow’s shoulder before laughing it off and taking her leave. Qrow watching her walk away with a smile before feeling eyes on him and seeing Winter trying to burn a whole in his skull with her gaze alone. “Never took you for the jealous type…”

“She’s maybe half your age.” Winter corrected.

“How old do you think I am?” Qrow asked with a quick furrow of his brow.

“Thirty-eight,”

“… okay lucky guess, now come on we should catch up with the tour.”

“Are you much for coffee?” Winter asked and drew her arms behind her back again.

“I prefer beer, but you’re not helping your jealously case here.”

Winter rolled her eyes and issued a disgusted growl.

“I need to talk to you about the investigation somewhere that won’t draw attention.” Winter said and started off away from the tour trail. Qrow walking up beside her.

“And you think doing it here of all places is a good idea?” Qrow asked.

“You can leave whatever conspiracy theories you might have at the door, I’ve made some progress into the investigation and this is perhaps the safest place to talk about it.” Winter said. “The only thing my father keeps an eye on in this school is the money he makes and whatever PR campaign he can muster up with it.”

“I’ll believe you just this once since that seems pretty in character for the old man to do something like that. Now you mentioned a breakthrough?” Qrow began and walked with Winter around the campus.

“I’ve done some research, compiled some data and found something alarming.” Winter said as she tapped away at her phone till she presented the screen out to Qrow. “These are the number of aggravated assault cases across the country,” Winter said and tapped the screen again to show a similar graph that was nearly identical to the last. “Ninety percent of the cases had assailants with Dust in their system at the time of the assault, that can’t be coincidence.”

“If someone is slinging drugs it’s not uncommon for this stuff to make its way around the country, some hot shot probably got his hands on enough to start dealing out in the fringes of Remnant.” Qrow said.

“I thought the same thing, then I looked up where these cases where occurring. Over the past few years, about two to three, the cases were kept within Remnant itself.” Winter said and displayed an infographic where the cases of assault marked the map as red dots. The markers themselves spread out evenly for the most part save for a larger concentration in places in low income neighborhoods. Drugs busts being common in these places and thus expected.

What came as a surprise however, was the amount of assault cases that cropped up because of Dust within an assailant’s system. The very first case being only a year and a half ago now, but clearly with the present information, this was going on a lot longer than Qrow, or anyone else in the force for that matter, expected.

“Some of these cases are five years old, the RPD only managed to get ahold of a case recently, how the hell did you manage to find this?” Qrow asked.

“Since they all happened in low income neighborhoods, the files labeled it as gang activity and domestic abuse cases, beyond that it was swept under the rug just till I revisited the files and found that the still living suspects had Dust in their system and still do to this day.” Winter said. “The problem is, they’re all in mental hospitals and have since been diagnosed with psychosis, schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder and a slew of other mental illnesses that would make them unfit to testify in a court of law.”

“And because they’re legally insane, any judge would dismiss the case because we won’t have enough evidence to really convict Schnee of anything in the first place.” Qrow said and sighed out a low growl. “So, this has been going on a lot longer than we initially thought and we don’t’ have any solid evidence that someone’s been covering this up from the start.”

“We may only be hanging onto a spider’s thread right now, but it’s still a line that we can follow and I’ve only managed to find more information the deeper I went. I mentioned the Remnant cases, but recently, there have been even more than that across the country.” Winter pulled up the data on her phone again and displayed a map of North and Central America. With a single tap of her finger, a slew of dots appeared across the east and west coast with fewer cropping up in between. Larger cases cropped up in central America and fewer in Canada as well.

With this display, Qrow’s eyes went wide, his heart stopping in his chest and his skin going cold. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if his heart would keep beating till he forced himself to take a breath. Qrow ran a hand across his face, subconsciously trying to wipe the expression he could feel there but only felt his stubble rub up against his hand. With his frayed nerves, the very hair on his chin felt like razor sharp needles.

“Low life drug dealers wouldn’t be able to get this much Dust moved across the country within five years, this has to be coming from somewhere higher up, someone who’d have access to shipping orders for pure Dust.” Qrow said and looked to Winter, searching her face for any sign that she might have an answer but only finding a stoic façade.

“I’m not about to claim my father did any of this, but I will agree with you that it has to be someone within the company. I looked into it and I didn’t find anyone by the name of Roman in the company directory. Nothing from any other office either.” Winter said and slipped her phone into her pocket.

“Well no shit, haven’t you ever heard of the saying ‘don’t shit where you where you eat?’ You don’t deal directly, you deal with proxies, find someone to do the dealing for you and they’ll find someone to do the dealing for them. That way when things go south, you can cut the chain and throw everyone bellow you to the wolves. Roman’s probably just one of the lower links in a chain.” Qrow said and turned to Winter again to see she had a real expression to her face this time and felt taken aback by this.

Winter scrutinized Qrow with a furrowed and cocked brow, curiosity and suspicion showing clearly on her face. “Did the academy teach you that or was that something from when you were-”

“Don’t!” Qrow demanded, baring his teeth and pointing over at Winter as if his finger were a loaded gun. “I’ll make you a deal here and now, my last name stays out of this and so will yours… deal?” Qrow offered out a hand to Winter, but kept his glaring eyes locked against hers.

Winter drew her hands behind her back, looked down at Qrow’s hand and then back up at him. Maintaining her stoic façade, she nodded her head with curt respect for Qrow’s wishes.

“Deal, but it’s your last name that makes you a value to his investigation and to myself Mr… Qrow, I realize you may not like who you once were, but you also have to realize that it has helped you more than you might like, especially in your current line of work.” Winter said and watched Qrow’s face contort into a mask of rage. The fury that embolden itself onto his face was like that of a demon pressing up against the skin, threatening to rip out of his body.

“The Branwen name has brought nothing but trouble for me and this city, I am nothing like them and the only thing I want is to fix the bullshit they started to begin with.” Qrow said through gritted teeth before whipping around at the feel of something prodding his ass. At the sudden movement, a germen Shepard recoiled away from him before taking a seat. It was only then that Qrow noticed the man in uniform standing right beside him.

“What exactly are you two doing here?” The campus officer asked.

“Were on tour with our family, is there a problem sir?” Winter asked.

“No problem, I’m just going to need to see your ID and have your friend over here turn out his pockets.” The officer nodded and yanked back his dog to his side.

Qrow furrowed his brows at the officer, but moved to comply none the less. Winter flashed her ID and the man’s face when slack, white, and then snapped back to attention all in the span of time it took for Qrow to reach inside of his pockets. It almost made him laugh had he not been so on edge with everything that happened.

When Qrow reached inside of his pocket, fiddling around for his wallet, the only thing he felt was a small plastic bag that wasn’t there before. By the dimensions he could feel, it was about the size of his wallet but what he pulled out was anything but that. In his hand he held a small bag of white powder and for a moment he looked on at the substance with mild confusion before his eyes went wide with realization. He looked over to Winter then over the officer who moved for the cuffs along his belt. Qrow growled low under his breath and offered out the baggie to the officer only to have him jerk away.

“Listen, I can explain all of this, I’m an officer of the law, part of the RPD,” Qrow began.

“Yeah sure you are, let’s see some ID now punk!” The officer growled.

“Officer, I can confirm that he is in fact-” Winter started.

“I don’t want to hear it, you can both explain yourselves after the police arrive, now both of you are under arrest.” The officer stated and slapped a cuff around Qrow’s wrist.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Cinder Fall stood towards the back of an empty elevator watching the doors slide shut, her senses all but dulled to the outside world leaving her mind to wander. This only made it even more surprising when a green blur slipped through the cracks of the elevator and hopped up beside her, the figure assuming the same stance as her. Cinder blinked out of her own day dreams and turned to see Emerald panting as she tried to catch her breath without gasping for air. Small beads of sweat forming across her neck and shoulders with more showing across her face. Cinder smirked at this and could tell from Emerald’s body language that this wasn’t because of effort alone that she’d been sweating like this.

Before she could make a remark, she noticed a bright yellow chaeta print purse hanging from her shoulder. This wouldn’t be so shocking had it not been for the modest attire Emerald found herself dressed in. A white sleeveless Chinese high collar waist coat cut a flattering figure across her torso while a pair of form dark green form fitting tights complimented the look. The bag however…

“Interesting choice in accessories.” Cinder remarked and turned her attention back towards the door.

“It’s not mine, believe me I would never pay for something this gaudy,” Emerald said and mimicked Cinder’s stance only to flick her attention over towards her at the feel of an inquisitive stare. “I stole it…” Emerald explained and received another inquisitive stare. “Okay I might be a little nervous and nicking this off of the lady whose outfit this actually matches might have helped me calm down, seriously you should have seen her it was like she went to the zoo to dress herself.”

Cinder brought up a hand to mask her smile as she let out a small giggle despite herself. The sound of her laugh causing the cold sweat dotting Emerald’s body to wash way as a warmth overtook her heart, clearly showing on her face and the way she smiled.

“Why are you so nervous?” Cinder asked, turning towards Emerald and lighting a hand across her shoulder for a single moment. At the way she tensed at her touch, Cinder stifled a smirk curling across her lips.

“Oh you know… just going to be meeting your boss, my bosses boss, the person that’s been the puppet master for this whole ordeal we’ve been working at for how many years now?” Emerald said and began to rifle through the bag. “Let’s see if there is anything of actual worth in here, hard candy go figure, make up that is not even close to my tone, oh hey this is cute.” Emerald said and pulled out a red alligator skin clutch with gold fasteners.

Cinder slipped it from Emerald’s grasp and looked at herself in the reflective walls of the elevator. The clutch was the perfect compliment to her outfit. Matching little red dress and even the gold trim and design that went with it. She smiled at herself and then over to Emerald.

“Thanks,” Cinder said and pecked a kiss to Emerald’s cheek. Though it was hard to tell with her naturally dark complexion, Cinder saw the faintest blush dust across her cheeks. When the Elevator opened, Cinder walked out with Emerald trailing three steps behind her. When the two came up to set of wooden doors, Cinder stopped short of the handle and peered over her shoulder. “Don’t be nervous, speak only when spoken to and as always, just do as I say, understood?”

“Yes ma’am.” Emerald said and lowered her gaze to the floor, disposing of the chaeta print bag in a nearby potted plat just before she proceeded into the room with Cinder leading the way.

The room itself was large and long, the only thing to occupy any space at all was a long silver white tale stretching most of the length of the room with chairs lined around it. A single chair sat at the head of the table at the far end of the room with the opposite end left vacant. Floor to ceiling windows lined either side of the room giving way to the Remnant city skyline just beneath them. The lights from all the buildings, street lamps, cars and more looking like stars beneath their feet. Emerald choosing to only catch the quickest glimpse before taking her seat beside Cinder at the right-hand side of the head of the table.

At the head of the table, a pale woman with stark white hair tied tight into a bun sat with her back against the chair and her hands held in her lap. To either side of her were the other attending guests. Cinder and emerald sitting closest to the pale woman Emerald knew as Salem. To Salem’s left and right across from Cinder and Emerald sat a burly man with a copper complexion and brown hair. A beast of a man known as Hazel.

Beside him was another man, scrawny by comparison to hazel, but still with a lithe figure. His hair flat against his skull with a long braid draping over his shoulder that reached to about his waist. Tyrian, Emerald recounted, sat with his knees nearly up to his chest and his teeth bared out in an attempt at a smile while his bug wild eyes traced along Emerald’s form. Emerald trying to ignore this and pretend she didn’t notice.

Lastly, a man with grey streaks along the sides of his head and pitch-black hair on top with a matching wildly bushy mustache signified the presence of Doctor Arthur Watts. The man was brilliant, but he knew it. Being responsible for creating a miracle drug that now ruled the pharmaceutical market might cause anyone to get a big head, but it only served to fuel the wildfire that was Doctor Watt’s ego.

The last member of the meeting to enter, late as always, made it a point to make his presence known with the way he flung the doors open and strolled in with the twirl of his cane. Roman wore a trouble makers smirk on his face. The kind of expression where he knew he’d done something wrong but knew that reproductions were not eminent or dire by any means.

Just behind him a young girl, at least in appearance, skipped in behind Roman with a spring to her step and a smile on her face not too dissimilar to that of Roman’s.

Roman took his seat beside Emerald and Neo sat in Roman’s lap. Neo’s hands resting on her thighs while Roman kept a hand around the small of her back. He fished around the inside of his pocket, produced a cigar and lighter and took his time lighting it up. He took a long drag to make sure the embers lit properly and evenly before exhaling a plume of smoke towards the ceiling.

“We going to get this show on the road or are you all just going to stare at me?” Roman said and looked to everyone around the table. “Oh right, it was my turn to bring something to show and tell, right hang on…” Roman said and gnawed on the end of his cigar and pulled out the front page of a newspaper from the inside of his coat. He unfolded the sheet of paper, slapped the image down onto the table and slid it to the center. “Looks like our little birdy is headed for the cage.”

The headline of the newspaper read in large bold lettering “Officer Branwen caught with Narcotics.” The picture below the headline showed Qrow Branwen escorted off the premise of the Schnee Institute of Technology with an officer clamping a hand around the back of his neck and Qrow’s wrists bound behind his back.

Salem snapped her fingers and held out an empty palm. Hazel reached for the paper and placed it in her hand while the remaining council members watching her eyes skim across the paper. When Salem lowered the page and looked to everyone, she adjusted herself in her chair and leaned over the table.

“Do we know who was responsible for this?” Salem asked and cocked a brow at everyone. “Watts…”

“For what little influence I have in the Schnee company, Jacques didn’t see an issue with having one of his mercenaries watch over the lesser Branwen. Those mercenaries of his are loyal to a fault so long as they get a paycheck, I doubt they’d have the guile to actually do something like this.” Watts said, crossing his arms over his chest and peering down at the paper at his nose.

“Roman?” Salem asked.

“I may have had a meeting with the guy, but I was kinda hoping he’d turn up dead after I threw him to the wolves. But I guess you need him alive for some reason?” Roman asked.

“It was me.” Emerald spoke out and stood. In that moment, she regretted having the courage to do so. The eyes on her felt like she was staring down the barrels of a million guns, all of them primed and ready to fire. From what Cider had already told Emerald, it wasn’t easy getting this far into Salem’s council without getting your hands dirty, so Emerald may as well have been staring down a real gun at this point.

Reaching inside of her pocket, she noticed a few people flinch and she paused for a moment. After everyone settled by the simple wave of Salem’s hand, Emerald produced a wallet and threw it out onto the table. The wallet unfolded and the ID inside lay on display for everyone to see. Qrow Branwen’s face on the ID card signifying who the owner was.

“And why Ms. Sustrai did you feel the need to do something like this?” Salem asked.

Emerald felt a chill run down her spine and tried to suppress a shiver despite her better efforts. Emerald swallowed back the dry feeling in her mouth and took a quick breath before speaking again.

“I was there with Cinder when we made the deal with Raven; she stays out of our way so long as no one touches the girl or her brother.” Emerald said.

“As one of your lieutenants of this whole operation-” Roman began.

“Excuse you?” Cinder interjected with a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Roman began, irritation showing in his face and in his voice, a fact Neo noticed as well and tried to reign him in by placing a hand at his chest.

“Boys rather presumptuous.” Hazel growled.

“Oh, what now you’re going to tell me that this one over here out ranks me?” Roman asked and nodded to Emerald only to receive his answer as both Salem and Cinder stared him down for a moment. “She’s half your age!”

“So is your ‘Body Guard’” Emerald interjected, feeling herself emboldened by the knowledge of where she stood and the small chuckles she heard issued around her by the others.

“You want me to prove why I hired her?” Roman stood, flinging his chair back and throwing Neo from his lap only to have her catch her footing right beside him.

“What she does to you in your alone time together is none of our concern.” Doctor Watts said.

“You mean like what you did to lose your medical license?” Roman retorted and watched the rage brew and boil over on Doctor Watt’s face.

“What I did is something you’d never be able to comprehend you troglodyte!” Doctor Watts growled, slamming his hands down onto the table only to hear a loud bang like a gunshot that caused not only himself but Roman to draw their respective weapons.

When both men looked to see what the sound was, they saw Hazel’s fist digging into the metal of the table. When he pulled his knuckles away, a perfect imprint of his knuckles lay pressed into the metal. When he drew himself back and sat in his chair, any expression beyond calm was impossible detect on his face. Hazel peered over at both men with pistols drawn and growled low under his breath, narrowing his eyes at both.

“Put the weapons away before Tyrian gets the wrong idea and our boss lets him.” Hazel said and turned over to Tyrian and placed a hand at his shoulder as if to anchor him to the seat.

Tyrian complied with Hazel and stayed in his seat while Watts kept his pistol in hand, cocking a brow over at Roman. Neo reached a hand out, wrapped her dainty fingers around Roman’s wrist and pulled the pistol from his hand. Her fingers laced with his and her furrowed brows said enough to force Roman back into his seat. Doctor Watts doing the same after he holstered his pistol.

“Another outburst like that and I’ll throw you both to the wolves, do I make myself clear gentlemen?” Salem began and noticed the way Watts and Roman stared at her. “Doctor Watts, you created Dust but that doesn’t mean you have the formula anymore. Last I checked that belongs to the Schnee company and how much do you think it will cost to have someone else in the company ‘misplace’ a few shipments for me?” Salem asked and kept her eyes locked onto doctor Watts, at the sound of laughter from Roman, Salem’s attention snapped over to him. “Don’t think you’re not just as expendable Roman, you provide funding yes but I could very well hire someone with a better and more punctual attitude and believe me I’ve considered it more than once. If you’re late to another meeting like this, one you called for might I remind you, then I will see to it that you’re late for a lot more than your next date with your body guard over here.”

Both men sat back in their chairs, both looking away from Salem like pouty children. Neo even had the bravery to glare at Salem, a feat that didn’t go unnoticed. Even as the two women stared each other down, neither backed away.

“Getting back on track,” Watts said. “With Branwen out of the Dust investigation, I don’t feel like there is much reason for us to tip toe around anymore is there?”

“No… I suppose there isn’t, let’s start work on stage three.” Salem said.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Qrow sat in a solitary holding cell at one of the local stations, the cell no bigger than a broom closet but afforded him more privacy than the play pen he found himself in earlier. He leaned over himself, elbows placed at his knees, hunched over looking at the ground with his red and bloody knuckles in his periphery. The officer that brought him in threw Qrow into the public holding cell, little more than a large cage packed with people pressing themselves up against the bars either to avoid anyone else or have the advantage of distance if a fight were to break out. When Qrow stepped inside the holding cell, he saw more than a few familiar and all to unfriendly faces among the crowd. A few of them having the idea that since Qrow was on their turf, he was also on their terms.

What they didn’t account for was that Qrow’s training didn’t just entail flashing a badge and waving a gun. He wasn’t about to waste more time in a hospital bed and he wasn’t about to start a fight. He damn well finished it though. A few busted ribs and more than half a dozen broken noses, Qrow eventually got his own private cell after the guards realized that it was within the best interest of everyone else in the holding cell if he wasn’t there. After an incident like that, it was just a matter of playing the waiting game.

Qrow already used his phone call to contact the only person who’d be able to back him up on something like this. The officers of the station unwilling to believe Qrow was a fellow officer of the law just till the Chief of Police had a word with them. Still though, they were bound by red tape and paperwork. Qrow still committed a crime and there was no two ways about that. The prospect of prison time being a reality that donned on him. He sneered at the thought and grit his teeth to bite back the image that invaded his mind. Of seeing Ruby on the other side of a plexiglass window with a phone to her ear as their only means of communication.

He shook the thought away from his mind just in time to hear a set of keys jingling ahead of him and looked up to see one of the officers unlocking his cell. Qrow stood, tentative in his motion as not to provoke any sort of hostility from the officer and waited for an explanation. The officer side stepped away from the cell door and gestured Qrow out and towards Glynda standing beyond the threshold. Just then, the holding cell Qrow found himself in didn’t seem so bad.

“You made bail Branwen, you’re free to go.” The officer said.

Qrow slipped his hands into his pockets and stepped out of the cell only to have Glynda slam a piece of paper up against his chest. Qrow looked down at the paper and then back up at her before taking it in hand and looking it over.

“What’s this?” Qrow asked and opened the papers to see a check written out in his name as well as a few other minor documents attached to it.

“You’re termination notice and final paycheck.” Glynda said.

“You’re firing me!?” Qrow barked and flung his hands out to either side.

Glynda reached for one of his hands and took it in hers, she turned his hand over to see the red marks along his knuckles and furrowed her brow at him.

“Couldn’t keep your hands to yourself?” Glynda asked.

“Don’t change the subject,” Qrow wrenched his hand away. “You can’t do this to me, I can’t lose this job!”

“What can I do Qrow?” Glynda retorted, her voice calling the attention of not only the officers but the other people in the holding cell not far from them. “I tried to keep your name out of the papers, out of the investigations and make sure no one knew just who you really were and then you turn around and pull a stunt like this? What am I supposed to do Qrow because I’d honestly love to know at this point? The city council is ready to have my head on a platter because of this!”

Qrow backed away from her and crossed his arms over his chest, looking down and away from her. He like a child again who upset his parents, every time Glynda raised her voice at him, every time she shouted and gestured Qrow flinched on instinct and despite himself. Glynda noticed this and backed away from him, pressing her back up against the wall opposite of Qrow. She brought a hand up to her face, rubbed the bridge of her nose underneath her glasses and took a moment to compose herself.

“I don’t know who paid your bail, but it wasn’t me, someone else beat me to it so your paycheck and all of your paid time off should give you enough money to float on for a few days till you can find a new job.” Glynda said.

Qrow scoffed and said: “If I can find a new job…”

“I wrote you a letter of recommendation as well so that should help the job search.” Glynda said and looked up at Qrow, holding his face in her gaze for a moment as her lips parted just barley as the words lost their meaning before she could say them. “Tell me the truth, what were you doing with pure Dust in a school no less?”

“I wasn’t carrying it around before and when I found it in my pocket my wallet was gone,” Qrow began and saw Glynda roll her eyes, before she could interject, he continued stating “Someone had to have planted it on me!”

“More of your Schnee Conspiracy Qrow, honestly what will it take for you to give this up you already lost your job if you keep this up you’ll never hold a job in this country again!” Glynda said with a tired sigh and shook her head. “If you say you didn’t do it…” Glynda paused and pursed her lips. “Then you didn’t do it and I’ll make sure they dismiss the case against you, it’s the least I can do I think. Now get going I’m sure Ruby is pulling her hair out by now worrying about you.”

Qrow looked to the papers in hand and nodded to them before nodding to Glynda as a silent goodbye and made his way towards the door.

“Qrow…” Glynda said and saw Qrow turn back to her. “If you need a place to stay, if both you and Ruby need a place to stay…”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Qrow said and stepped out of the police station. One bit of good news he could look forward to was that his bike remained untouched and sat waiting for him on the curb outside the station. Qrow swung his leg over the bike and slipped his helmet on, knowing a ride would do him some good and help him clear his head.

_~Later~_

Qrow stepped through the apartment door and announced his presence. At this, Zwei yipped and bounded over to his side, hopping up towards Qrow though his tiny feet only allowed him to get to about knee length. His tiny tail wagging behind him causing the lower half of his torso to shake from side to side. Qrow smiled at the little guy, pet his head and looked up to see a familiar facing standing in the kitchen with Ruby.

An older man, a full head of grey hair and a pair of spectacles resting at the tip of his nose. The black collar and white strip between denoting his priesthood. His black jacket resting on a chair in favor of an apron around his waist, covered in flower and brown sugar and what looked to be smudges of chocolate on top of that.

“You’re just in time,” Father Ozpin said and plucked a chocolate chip cookie from the try and took a bite, Ruby snagging on for herself. “The cookies have just finished cooling.”

Qrow scoffed, a genuine smile coming to his face as he swiped a cookie for himself and poured a glass of milk for himself and Ruby. He slid the glass across the counter and toasted his to Ruby before they both knocked back a quick swing.

“How long have you been here Oz?” Qrow asked and perched himself against the counter.

“Since Ms. Rose contacted me about what happened. I read it in the newspaper this morning as well and it will be something we can discuss later if you feel so inclined.” Ozpin said and stared on at Qrow for some time before his eyes flicked over towards Ruby.

“Ruby’s an adult,” Qrow said and turned to address Ruby herself. “You deserve to know just what happened back there.” Qrow began and told Ruby and Ozpin what happened. At least everything he told Glynda as well. The matter of having pure Dust on his person. How someone planted it on his person and the worst part of all of this being that he lost his job because of this.

After the delivery of this doleful news, a silence gripped the room. Ozpin cocked a brow at Qrow, expecting him to give an explanation, an idea for a plan of some sort. If not for his own sake then at least for Ruby who bowed her head low in a futile attempt to hide the worry that showed there.

“Hey,” Qrow called Ruby’s attention and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I didn’t need that stuffy job anyway, I’ll find another one I’m good a lot of things. Now you know what today is right?” Qrow said and saw Ruby’s face light up. Today was finally Saturday which meant the big fight was going on tonight at the local tavern.

“Were still gonna go see the fight?” Ruby asked, her eyes shot wide open with a shimmer of hope and glee to them.

“Hell yeah were gonna go see the fight, everyone we went to your sister won by a total knockout, what if we don’t go this one time and she loses its gonna be all our fault, now go get ready.” Qrow ruffled Ruby’s hair and watched her dash off towards her room in a flurry of excitement. “I know what you’re going to say and-”

“And it’s important to enjoy yourself and keep your spirits up in times of crisis. I won’t lecture you Qrow you know that, you’re a man beyond your years but if you want to talk I will listen, always.” Ozpin said.

“Thank you, Father,” Qrow said.

“Uncle Qrow! Put on your lucky boxers!” Ruby shouted from her doorway.

“And I think with that I will take my leave.” Ozpin said with a smirk and a chuckle.

“You know you’re welcome to come with us to the fight tonight,” Qrow offered.

“Violence is not something that appalls me, but it is something I’ve experienced more than enough in my life time. Thank you for the invitation though.” Ozpin said and draped the apron over a chair, slipped on his coat and started for the door. “One more thing before I go,” Ozpin said, catching himself just shy of stepping through the door. He reached inside of his pocket and produced a necklace with a cross pendant hanging at the end of it. Ozpin held it out to Qrow and nodded towards it. “I know you are not a man of god, truth be told I cannot say for certain if I am either, but I want you to take this not as a show of your faith in a god, but rather the faith I have in you, to do good, to be a good person, to stay a good person.”

Qrow blew a stream of air between his lips, a deep resentful sigh and looked away from the necklace for a moment before taking it in his hand and clutching it tight within his fingers.

“Thank you, Father.” Qrow said and nodded, holding tighter to the cross in his hand.

After Ozpin took his leave, Qrow slipped the pendant around his neck and promptly changed into what Ruby called his ‘lucky boxers.’ Really being just a pair of fitness boxers with Yang’s symbol on them. A faming heart shaped flower. Ruby meanwhile came bounding out of her room wearing a bright yellow hoodie draped around her shoulders also with Yang’s symbol emblazoned across the back. She took two steps out the door before rushing back in and tapping her knuckles against the wall where the poster was, Qrow doing the same, and the two leaving.

The bar they arrived at was a total dive. Cramped seating around a small bar no bigger than twice the length of a normal coffee table. The booze was almost all bottom shelf. The place constantly stank of old alcohol. The chairs, barstools, and tables all beaten down, torn up, or carved till they were almost unusable. But the company was good, the drinks were cheap, and it remained mostly empty save for the usual customers which meant it would be quiet for the most part. Qrow and Ruby frequented the bar so often for fight night that none of the bartenders batted an eye at how Ruby sat at the bar with Qrow despite being underage.

“Here for the big fight I take it?” The barmaid said.

“What gave it away?” Qrow asked and pulled Ruby’s hood over her eyes and pulled up the waist of his boxers with a smirk. Ruby giggling at this as well as she spun around to show off the insignia across the back of the hoodie.

“I’ll change the channel for you two then,” The barmaid said and walked off to find the remote.

Before she came back a second bartender set a couple of drinks down on the table. One being a tumbler of whisky and ice the other being a pint glass of red cascading into orange. Qrow looked down at the drinks then back up to the bar tender with an inquisitive stare.

“The usual right? Whisky on the rocks and a strawberry sunrise.” The bartender said.

“We didn’t order drinks…” Qrow said.

“Some woman across the way ordered them for you, she said you wouldn’t mind bottom shelf but I went ahead and gave you top.” The bartender said with a wink and a smile.

Qrow returned the gesture, took the tumbler of whisky and toasted her to thank her generosity before taking a swig. He peered over to the side of the bar and saw a woman with long black hair sitting with her back against the wall. She was almost unnoticeable in the darkness that shrouded her and the way she held herself made her nearly impossible to find unless you knew where to look. When a pair of red eyes flashed up to regard Qrow, he narrowed his eyes at the woman and bared his teeth with a low growl.

“Save my seat kiddo, I’m gonna go thank our friend for the drinks.” Qrow said and started over across the bar. Without waiting for an invitation, Qrow took his seat at the opposite end of the table, leaned back in his chair and took another swig of the whisky.

For a moment that stretched on far too long, the two stared on at one another. Neither of them quite looking at the other, rather starring through them at a point beyond their person. The woman before Qrow leaned over the table, her eyes regarding the man before her before she leaned back in her chair and assumed a similar casual stance to Qrow’s own. With that seemingly subtle change, she came back into the throngs of reality and Qrow’s eyes felt like they had something to really focus on now. Not only that, but a few of the patrons felt the same way as some caught a quick glance before looking away and giving the two of them a wide berth, either by recognition of who they were or by the air their put off around themselves.

“Haven’t seen you come out of hiding in a while, what’s the occasion?” Qrow said, breaking the silence that gripped the two of them.

“I saw what happened in the news.” Raven began.

“So has everyone else and I’m not looking for pity either so if that’s all you’re here to give me you can stop pretending.” Qrow snapped.

“I’m not here to pity or console you, I do want to make you an offer though.”

“Hard pass.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“I have an idea and you should know that I want nothing to do with your last name.”

“Our last name” Raven corrected. “Used to be respected, feared, we used to walk into somewhere, anywhere and introduce ourselves and we’d be treated like royalty.”

“They treated us like that because they were afraid of what we’d do to them if we didn’t, there was no respect to it Raven!” Qrow said and slammed down his drink, gripping tight to the sides and drawing a few wandering eyes over towards them before looking away.

“And so what if there wasn’t? Our family used to rule this city, used to rule the whole of the east coast.” Raven said waving her arms for emphasis.

“And now look where you’re at.” Qrow said with a low growl.

“Last I checked you’re in not better of a spot then I am either.” Raven said. “You want Schnee taken down as much as I do, don’t you?” Raven asked and already knew the answer, Qrow remained quite however and circled his finger along the rim of the glass. “Well maybe I managed to find myself enough leverage to overturn Schnee in their own game.”

“You and I both know how you operate, so whatever the hell it might be you can keep it to yourself, I’ll figure this out on my own.” Qrow snatched up his tumbler and stood only to have Raven stop him by gripping his wrist. The two held each other in their respective gazes, looking at each other truly for a split second and seeing something there neither of them wanted to look at for long and thus turned away shortly after. Raven’s hand loosened around Qrow’s wrist and Qrow took a step back.

“You know the family will always welcome you back.” Raven said as she stood.

“No…” Qrow pulled his shirt back to show the scar tissue of a long since healed bullet wound just bellow his collar bone and right above where his heart would be. “They won’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have your daughter to cheer on in her big fight, been looking forward to this all week and I’m not about to let you ruin it. She might like to-” Qrow stopped himself upon noticing how Raven wasn’t there anymore, seemingly vanishing. Qrow knocked back a large swig of his whisky and sighed out, shaking his head.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Yang Xiao Long sat straddling a bench, boxing tape tied around her fingers and down her wrist to separate every knuckle to not only increase the force of her strike but to keep her fingers from breaking upon impact. In her hand she held her phone to the side, watching the live commentary on the fight to see just what they spectators had to say about her and her opponent.

“Cardin Winchester and Yang Xiao Long are set fight within the hour, so that gives us some time to get to know the specs on our fighters; Bartholomew?” The announcer began.

“Thank you, Peter. First up is our three times middle weight champion of the men’s league, Yang Xiao Long weighing in at one hundred and seventy-five pounds, standing at five feet eight inches, and using a mix of Taekwondo, Jujitsu, and Aikido.” Bartholomew said.

“All of these were taught to her by the young veteran himself correct?” Peter asked.

“That is correct, her skill is not unfounded as it was none other than the retired champion himself Sun Wukong, the monkey of the middle weight, took her under his wing and honed her craft till it was razor sharp.”

“I heard a rumor that the deal the champ has with her own brand of gear is because she kept wearing out everything anyone else tried to give her and demanded she design her own gear so she would have something to actually last more than a single fight.” Peter said.

“Forty-six mouth guards, twenty-eight pairs of gloves, an innumerable number of sports bras and many more, so it’s more than just a rumor Peter, Ms. Xiao Long is anything but gentle, then again you have to be tough as nails to be the only woman to ever compete in the men’s league and come out a champion as much as she has.”

“Well when you have a figure like hers, it’s no wonder she had to have some custom gear made am I right?” Peter said and winked at the camera.

About that time Yang locked her phone and rolled her eyes, letting out a low growl and cracking each of her knuckles one by one.

“I don’t know why you keep watching those guys,” Sun said from behind Yang as he tied her long blond hair back into a French braid. With Yang’s hair reaching all the way down to her waist, this was one of the only ways they could keep the length and cut down on size just before a fight. Even if Sun couldn’t throw a punch like he used to anymore, his skill with his hands certainly improved as the years went by. “They always make that joke every time you’re supposed to get up there and fight.”

“Well I’d like to know what they’re going to say about my opponent tonight, but I guess they can’t stop talking about my tits for five seconds.” Yang said with a roll of her eyes and a deep sigh.

“Cardin Winchester, five feet ten inches, one hundred and eighty pounds, preferred style is traditional boxing mixed with Israeli Krav Maga.” Neptune Vasilias said. The man was the walking talking embodiment of tall dark and handsome. With a charming, handsome, and a smooth talker made him a perfect agent for Yang to climb her way up to the championships and even get her into the men’s league to begin with. He claimed to have enough charm and swagger that he could tell someone their ass was a potted plant and they’d start watering it twice a day. Sun, being Neptune’s old client, wasn’t so convinced of this as he’d seen much more of Neptune than anyone knew about him and wasn’t afraid to share it with Yang either. “All the fights we’ve watched of this guy just shows him trying to brute force his way through a fight, it shouldn’t be hard to exhaust him by round two and finish him on round three. Oh and the flowers you ordered made it to their destination, I want you to know that I’m probably on a government watch list now.”

“What kind of flowers are you ordering?” Sun demanded.

“Oh you know, Nightshade flowers,” Before Yang could be pressed any further on the matter of her flower order, her phone rang, the caller ID reading Uncle Qrow. “Hang on I gotta take this.” Yang said and dismissed herself to take the call. “Hello?”

“Hey fire cracker.” Qrow said from the phone.

“HIIII YANG!” Ruby shouted.

“Your sister says hi…”

“Hiii Ruby!” Yang responded and smiled, it was always nice to hear from family and without fail Qrow always called before every match. She thought for a moment about what she saw in the news not too long ago, about how Qrow had gotten himself into some sort of trouble. In the back of her mind she knew better than to broach the subject at all. She knew that her uncle was a proud man and every time she offered to give him a hand by sending him some money, insisting it was just a loan that he could pay back at any time, he refused. Stating she worked for her money and they were doing just fine. Maybe not living pretty, but they were living comfortably. “So what hap-”

“Don’t,” Qrow interjected. “Please I’ve already had to explain enough and the last thing I need is to worry you before your fight. I’ll be fine and so will Ruby, we got some friends here that can help us out and-”

“And I can help too you know, not a little girl anymore and maybe it’s time you shelf your pride for five seconds, let someone else hold up the world while you take a break for once.” Yang said and for a moment there was nothing but silence over the phone just till Qrow sighed from the other side.

“Fine… I’ll think about it but only if you win this match for me and Ruby, she made me wear those lucky boxers you know.” Qrow said and chuckled.

“Yeah, I’ll win this one for both of you… tell Ruby I said I love you, and you too old man.” Yang said, putting a playful lilt to her voice before hanging up. Before Sun or Neptune could question Yang any further about her choice in floral arrangements, one of the staff members on site came into the locker room to let Yang know she was ready to come out at any time. She hopped to her feet, strapped on her gloves on and slapped the overhead of the door frame before waiting just at the threshold of the stadium.

She could hear the roar of the crowd, ramblings of conversation, people whistling and cheering. Yang felt her chest expand as she rolled her shoulders back and took in a deep breath, pride and ambition filling her lungs while a barely trammeled smirk perked up on her face. When the music for her intro began, she stepped out into the crowd and heard people roar and cheer for her to the point of drowning out the anthem she’d become synonymous with. Which was a shame since Yang quite enjoyed _Champion_ by _Barns Courtney._ Then again, she loved the way her fans greeted her even more.

She waved her hands up in the air, with a swipe of her hand one crowd cheered, with the swipe of the other the other half of the stadium followed suit. Along her trail to glory leading up to the octagon, she shook hands, with fans, high fived a few others and made the day of one little kid by pecking a kiss to his cheek with a selfie for proof.

When she stepped into the octagon, her music cut out in favor of her opponents. The show boating being a sure-fire way to get the fans riled up and ready for the fight to come. Cardin Winchester entered the ring to the tune of _You’re Going Down_ by _Sick Puppies_. Yang liked this song too and tapped her foot to the beat, her head bobbing in tune as she mouthed out the words and sized up her opponent. The man was half was wide as he was tall, fair skin stretched over bulging muscles like he’d flex the wrong way and tear through his own skin. Looks only amounted to so much though, it was skill that got him this far and that was a matter that Yang kept reminding herself of. When Cardin stepped into the ring Yang approached him and instead of the usual fist bump, she offered out her hand for Cardin to shake. Cardin looked taken aback by this for a moment before taking her hand in his and smirking at her. He wrenched his fingers around Yang’s palm to intimidate her, but only succeeded in instigating Yang to do the same.

“You got good choice in music.” Yang said over the roar of the crowd and pulled Cardin in closer so he could hear. “I really like Sick Puppies, they’re awesome!”

“Your music isn’t too bad I guess,” Cardin retorted and stepped away along with Yang once the referee stepped up and pushed them away.

The rules were simple. No fish hooking, meaning now sticking one’s finger in your opponents’ mouth and wrenching outward. No eye gouging. No crotch shots on either side and beyond that, they both knew the rules. With a nod of understanding, Yang and Cardin tapped knuckles and the referee stepped away. Both combatants took their stances and waited for the bell to ring.

At the sound of the start of the match, Cardin made the first move and Yang reminded herself what Neptune said. He was all brute force and all it would take is a couple of rounds to exhaust him. Yang drew up her forearms to block the first punch, but the moment it connected she lost her footing. Staggering back by the force of the hit, Yang’s teeth ground against the mouth guard. Yang hadn’t anticipated just how much brute force Cardin could put forth, then again, he made it to the championship for a reason.

Before Yang could retaliate again, another blow struck her forearms, sending shivers of pain ringing down her bones. Yang grunted and flexed her abdomen, willing herself out of her adrenaline high, knowing it would make her shaky, it would make her sloppy. When the next hit came in, Yang stepped back but stepped just the wrong way right into Cardin’s kick. She stumbled and staggered, managing to fall forward and onto her knees only to feel hands at the back of her head. Yang’s eyes went wide as she braced for impact at Cardin’s knee coming up to strike her. The blow hit her once in the face and she could feel a crunch while blood began to roll down her face.

The referee came in, pushing Cardin and Yang away because of an illegal move. Kneeing or kicking an opponent when they were down. Both Cardin and Yang ushered themselves back to either side of the ring and both combatants’ taking a few moments to compose themselves for before the fight began again properly. Yang wiped away the blood from her nose with the back of her wrist and narrowed her eyes at Cardin across the way that just smiled at her.

Tanking the hits wasn’t going to work, Yang knew that much now. He hit too hard and too fast for her to last very long with that strategy. He might be all force, but she’d need to match that if she wanted to win this. With the bell ringing for the second match, Cardin hadn’t waisted any time charging forward, he came in fast and low, crouching and looking to sweep Yang’s legs out from under her. Yang’s first instinct was to charge forward, meet Cardin head on and plant her knee right into his jaw. She felt his teeth grind together just under her knee cap. She wasn’t about to make the same mistake Cardin did and instead planted her knee into his chest to force him to the ground. Cardin hit with a thud, his arms landing above his head leaving Yang open to pin his shoulders with her knees and unleash a flurry of hits. One right after the next, ripping into his face with each blow just till Yang felt Cardin’s ankles at her shoulders.

She tried to force her center of gravity forward to keep her balance, but it was too late. Cardin forced her back, flinging her to the mat and turning her own assault against her. Cardin reared back his fist and for a moment Yang noticed his style and her eyes went wide with realization. She snapped back into her senses and reached into the blow of Cardin’s fist, caught him by the wrist with one hand and placed another hand at his elbow. Using his own momentum against him, she forced his blow out of the way and toppled him away from her.

Springing to her feet, she took a defensive stance, hands close to her chest, stance wide and low. Cardin went for the offensive, throwing a punch. There. The way he flared his elbows out, the way he reared back before a hit, telegraphing every move before he made it. Yang leaned away from the hit and felt Cardin’s fist glance past her cheek. Movement caught her eye again, his leg twitched just before he tried to kick her. Yang threw herself away from the blow, feeling the air whoosh past her abdomen as she dodged. She kept this up, ducking, weaving moving in sync to Cardin’s every move and seeing the veins in his eyes bulge out while his face reddened with rage. His lips moved to say something but Yang’s focus on the fight was too tight to hear him. When the bell rang, signaling the end of the second round, the referee ushered the two of them back.

Round three, final round for the championship title and Yang already had it locked down. Cardin took a fighting stance, his shoulders bobbing with every breath he took while beads of sweat marked his form. Exhaustion set it and it was plain to see on Cardin’s face with the way his eye lids drooped, the way he tried to hold back his labored breathing, his stance being just slightly off if not lazy.

The bell rang and Yang kept her defenses up and narrowed her vision at Cardin. A glancing blow blew past her, slower this time. Yang smirked and used this opening to land a couple of jabs into Cardin’s ribs just as he tried to inhale and knocked his breath short and with it any rhythm he had.

Cardin staggered back, his footing lost, but his determination was admirable. Another charge, another slowed hit, but this time Cardin over extended and knew it once he saw the look on Yang’s face. Yang grabbed onto Cardin’s arm nestled his armpit into her shoulder and threw his body weight over herself and slammed him down onto the floor. Her grip over Cardin’s arm didn’t let up either. Yang locked her thighs around his forearm and fell back to the floor. Her ankles resting at Cardin’s chest while she arched her back upwards and caught Cardin in an arm bar.

Her opponent growled and grit his teeth, holding back a scream of pain as tried to pull back on Yang’s constantly wrenching grip. Yang yanked back all the harder, still having her stamina on her side. She gave Cardin a look that said she’d break the arm if she had to and Cardin accepted his defeat. He tapped the mat with his free hand and the referee broke up the fight after seeing Cardin’s surrender.

All at once, the world came flooding back to her as her focus faded and her battle fever cooled. Fans cheering in the stands, stomping their feet and chanting all in unison.

Long Haul!

Long Haul!

Long Haul!

Somehow, someway, Yang could hear Ruby and Qrow’s voice in the crowd, regardless of where they were now.

“The middle weight champion for the fourth time in a row, ladies and gentlemen, Yang Xiao Long!” The announcer bellowed and the crowd went wild.

The doors to the octagon opened and Sun came rushing in before anyone else, leaping into Yang’s outstretched arms, hosting her up and spinning her around. He pointed to her and mouthed out something, what it was Yang couldn’t hear over the roar of the crowd, but knew it didn’t matter. The woman that came after presented Yang with a massive gold and silver championship belt. She smiled and gracefully accepted her trophy. When she noticed Cardin walking out of the ring, Yang stepped over to his side, tapped him on the shoulder and gestured to the belt. She held it high above her head and smiled at Cardin who in turn smiled back and held it up with her to pose for a picture and a display of sportsmanship.

_~Later~_

“Social media is lit up right now with your photo, they freaking love it!” Neptune said as he walked beside Yang and Sun, but kept his eyes on his phone, constantly tapping away as fast as his fingers would let him. He’d been referring to the photo of Cardin and Yang holding up the belt together while social media and sports news outlets were calling it a display of sportsmanship not seen since the golden age. “Think you got time for a follow up interview with the panel?”

“Yeah, I think we can take a few questions, I wanna make sure and get out to Belladonna’s sometime tonight though so let’s keep it short.” Yang said.

“What got a hot date tonight or something?” Sun asked. “Or is it just someone you plan to assassinate with those poison flowers you ordered?”

“Yeah you never did answer us before, what the hell were those even for?” Neptune asked, obviously serious about his question as he peeled himself away from his phone to ask it.

“Come to the bar after the interview, I’ll explain later.” Yang said and stepped through the tarp and sat at the table. Sun and Neptune reluctantly accepting this and sitting at Yang’s side, flanking either side of her.

When scanning the crowd, Yang thought she saw a head of eerily familiar red hair, but hadn’t had time to really pin down just where she saw this person from when the questions began. One right after the next, she answered the barrage of questions. All of them being so familiar to Yang that she almost didn’t even think on her answers.

How does it feel to be the champ yet again?

How does it feel to be the only women in a man’s sport?

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

The usual fan fair when it came to interviewer questions that almost made Yang’s mind go so totally numb that she nearly missed the next question that did manage to catch her attention. A hand went up towards the back and Yang called on them for their question and that familiar redhead raised herself out of the crowd. With a cheery smile, vivid green eyes, and flowing red hair pulled up into a pony tail, Yang realized just why she was so familiar.

“This is less of a question and more of a request; what do you say to challenging you to the title of champion, one on one?” Pyrrha Nikos said and for a moment, the room was still. The attention of the reporters divided among the two women. Pyrrha still wearing that charming smile on her face while Yang’s mouth hung agape before she clicked her jaw and bared her teeth in a gnarly smile. The Olympic gold medalist herself, the untouchable woman. Yang wasn’t about to pass up a chance like this.

“As long as were putting titles on the line, when I win, I want yours.” Yang said with a wink.

“Deal.” Pyrrha nodded with a growing smile

The reporters around them split into two groups, charging after either Yang or Pyrrha trying to get their questions in between the two women before their respective agents pulled them out of the conference room. Out in the hallway when they all had some time to breath, Pyrrha and Yang met face to face while Neptune and Pyrrha’s agent were given the same courtesy.

“Its gonna get a little crazy out here for a while, what do you say you ride with us and we can drop you off somewhere?” Yang offered.

“Lead the way!” Pyrrha said and looped her arm around Yang’s.

“Why don’t you two go on ahead, were gonna hash out the technicalities real quick,” Neptune said, referring to himself and Pyrrha’s agent. When Pyrrha and Yang left, Neptune turned to the man before him, bowler hat cocked to the side of his head and walking cane in hand. “The name’s Neptune by the way, pleasure to meet the agent behind the all-star.”

“Roman Torchwick, the pleasure is all mine.” Roman said and shook Neptune’s hand.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The night crawled on and Qrow couldn’t shake the thoughts inside of his head. Thinking about Raven’s offer, thinking about what he was going to do for money and how he was going to keep a roof over Ruby’s head. The excitement of the fight had long since worn off and Qrow sat in the living room, arm slung over the couch with a tumbler of whisky in hand. The ice beginning to melt to the point of just turning into water. Qrow worked on his buzz though the night to try and keep his mind off things, but it only proved to force his attention back to the problem at hand.

He listened to the night move on around him. The creek of the floor boards and the sounds of the apartment settling in. Sirens off in the distance of the city and the clinking of the ice in his glass. He took another swig and held the whisky in his mouth for a moment, if only to focus on something else for just a moment.

Zwei lay at Qrow’s feet, sleeping on his back and out cold, his stubby legs sticking up in the air like tooth picks sticking out of an over blown marshmallow. Qrow only heard Ruby’s door open after Zwei reacted to it first. Rolling his barrel belly over and trotting over to her side. Qrow watched as the dog regarded her much the same way Qrow had, a silent question in their eyes.

“Can’t sleep?” Qrow asked and Ruby nodded. Qrow knocked back the last of his whisky and tapped the seat beside him, Ruby and Zwei sidling up beside him. Zwei going back to his spot at Qrow’s feet while Ruby rested her head against Qrow’s rips. Qrow wrapping his arm around her to bring her in close, his hand stroking her shoulder. “What’s keeping you up?”

“You met Yang’s mom back at the bar, didn’t you?” Ruby asked and Qrow moved his glass to take a swig before he realized he’d already emptied the glass. Ruby looked up at him, her eyes demanding an answer. “I’m not a little girl anymore Qrow, I want to know what happened between the two of you, why she ran away and Yang with dad, why you never talk about her. She’s family, isn’t she?”

Qrow let out a deep sigh laced with a low growl. He clenched his Jaw and looked off to the side, staring at nothing for a moment to think on his answer.

“Years ago, when I was just a kid, not much older than you are now, Raven and I joined the army, the forty-ninth infantry unit the moment we turned eighteen. We were good too, hell some would say that we were the best. Good enough to catch the attention of the CIA just like dad wanted us to. In the end though, the family business came first, the family business always came first.” Qrow began.

_~Years Earlier~_

Qrow walked out of the elevator after it reached the top floor of the parking complex. Above him was an open sky and not a single car in sight. Now that he thought about it, the whole of the parking complex was empty, not a single car and no one trying to park inside. He wasn’t a dumb kid either, he knew it had something to do with his father’s directions to come up here. What exactly was going to happen was a mystery to him just till he saw his father and his sister across the way.

Raven stood a fair distance away from their father, her arms crossed over her chest and a constant aggravated glare on her face. Qrow came to enjoy getting that face out of her from time to time, but right now, it hardly seemed appropriate.

When he began to walk across the way, Qrow’s father stopped him nearly twenty feet short. Qrow furrowed his brows at this and scoffed, holding up his hands to show they were empty and placed his hands behind his head.

“What’s the deal pops?” Qrow asked.

“You carrying a gun boy?” Starling Branwen said, his voice gruff with age and a consistent hint of resentment. Qrow was the perfect likeness to his father save for the fact that Starling wore his hair shorter along the sides and longer on top. A traditional military crew cut from his days as a marine before becoming the head of the family. Along with this, his chin was larger, broader and age set deep into his skin with scar like wrinkles etching into his face.

Qrow reached behind his back and produced a pistol. A traditional 1911 45. Caliber hand gun. The pistol itself generic as any other with no specific markers save for how the grip fit Qrow’s hand perfectly after the years of wear he put it through,

“Yeah I’m carrying.” Qrow said and gripped tighter to the gun in his hand.

“Hand it over.” Starling said.

“What?”

“You know he’s not going to ask you twice.” Raven said and cocked a brow at her brother.

In favor of walking the gun over to him, Qrow dropped the magazine from the handle and tossed it at his father’s feet. Pulling the slider back, the barrel stayed open and the safety deployed. He set the gun on the ground and kicked it over to his father’s side.

“What the hell is this about pops?” Qrow asked and felt Raven’s eyes on him constantly. He tried to ignore her and keep his sights set on their father.

“You’ve both made me a very proud man, you’ve both made the family very proud and I’m not going to be around forever so its high time we decide who’s going to run this family after I’m gone.” Starling said and reached inside of his jacket and produced a knife, the blade glinting and shining in the overhead street lamps. He tossed the blade out before them, the weapon landing between Qrow and Raven at about equal distance. “This is your last test, first one to kill the other gets the title of head of the family in the will.”

“Are you fucking nuts, I’m not going to kill my own sister!” Qrow barked and saw motion out of the corner of his eye. Raven already making a mad dash for the knife and half way there. He froze in place, watched her snatch the knife off the ground as though it was in her hand the entire time and rush towards Qrow. A vicious stab aimed right for his gut missed Qrow by only a hairs breath as Qrow side stepped away from Raven.

In that single moment, Qrow saw in her eyes the look he’d seen too many times before. The same looked he’d seen on her face in Dubai, in Juarez, in Chicago repeatedly when she executed anyone. No fury, no rage, no blood lust or enjoyment. Just start professionalism no different than anyone doing any other job.

“That’s a shame boy, ‘cause it looks like your sister is sure willing to kill you.” Starling said.

In favor of a remark, Qrow concentrated on the blade in Raven’s hand, watched her movements and where her eyes where. He stepped out of the way of another slash, hopping backwards to give himself some space as he checked his mental map of the area he was in. Twenty paces back and he’d be at the elevator. Right beside that was the stare well. That was his only choice. Being stuck in an elevator with Raven, Qrow knew it would become an iron maiden. The walls painted red before they reached the bottom. Prior instincts wanted him to turn tail and run, make a mad dash for the stairs but he’d trained beside Raven for too long to consider that as an option. He knew he’d find the knife sticking out of the back of his head before he got two steps away from her.

Instead, he kept back peddling, step after step, hopping away from the blade in Raven’s hand. She was no amateur either, her swings were tight, her elbows locked in, her off hand poised and ready for any means of retaliation, thus making it impossible for Qrow to even entertain the idea.

A slash ripped across his chest, the very tip of the blade ripping through Qrow’s shirt and nicked the skin underneath. The wound wasn’t deep enough to cause lasting damage, but it was deep enough to bleed. Qrow hopped back again and felt his back slam against the wall and willed his focus again. Raven stood away from him, her combat stance at the ready while Qrow laid himself flush against the wall.

Reaching for the knob, Qrow wrenched the door open hard enough to parry the next blow away from him and sunk past the threshold of the doorway, grabbing the knob in his retreat. To stop him, Raven lunged forward with her knife to jam it into the door but over extended just as Qrow slammed the door. Her wrist crunched underneath the weight of the door and the knife dropped. Raven didn’t even scream.

Qrow threw his shoulder into the door to shove her away only to have Raven side step out of the way and plant a kick right to his chin. Qrow tumbled backwards down the stairs and hit his back against the wall. He grunted in pain and opened his eyes in time to see Raven leaping down on him from above. Qrow twirled and hoped to his feet, hoisting himself over the railing and hopping to the other side, giving himself a fair bit of distance between himself and Raven along with a decent amount of cover.

He raced down the stairs and felt his heart rate quicken which only caused the wound in his chest to spurt more blood while his body ripped the wound open even further. If this kept up, the bleeding would kill him before Raven got the chance to.

“I don’t want this anymore than you do,” Raven shouted from where she stood, looking down on Qrow. “But the family comes first, the family always comes first.”

“You have a very skewed notion of that word!” Qrow shouted back and saw that sneer come to Raven’s face again before she clutched the knife between her teeth and hopped the railing. She dropped to the floor below it and quickly chased Qrow to the bottom floor.

Qrow burst through the door and sprinted across the street, narrowly avoiding a passing car and managed to get to the other side just as Raven came out the door after him. The two regarded each other with a mutual glare while Raven held the knife in her off hand. Her right-hand wrist already starting to bruise.

Qrow looked around for something, anything he could use to defend himself against her onslaught. He was out in an open area now; the midnight traffic wouldn’t keep Raven away from him for long. Most people would ignore his pleas for help… but not the police. He felt dirty for even considering it, using the help of a police officer in the middle of a fight, but the CIA taught him to use whatever he could amid combat.

Qrow stepped out into the street, hands held above his head and waving frantically. The wound on his chest lit up by the headlights of the vehicle. He shouted at the top of his lungs for the officers to stop and turned to see Raven rushing over towards him with a horrific sneer across her face. The moment the officer stepped out, he placed his hand at his hip just over his gun and lowered his already low brow at Qrow.

“Please you gotta help me this woman she’s fucking nuts she-” Qrow began but cut his sentence short after he felt blood splatter onto his face and blinked to keep the blood out of his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw the tip of the knife poking through the officer’s forehead and a look of dumbstruck death across his face. Eyes vacant, mouth agape, body going slack and falling forward.

Qrow cursed aloud and let the body fall towards him. He supported it on his shoulder, grabbed the pistol from the holster and pointed it at Raven. By feel alone he knew what gun he was holding. Glock 19 police standard issue with 9mm rounds. The magazine held fifteen rounds, hopefully more than enough to stop Raven in her tracks.

Qrow tossed the body to the side and fired off three rounds aimed at the ground, compensating for Raven’s movement and trying to aim for her legs. She was too smart for that however and each shot only bounced off the pavement as she dashed from side to side to avoid the shots. She closed the gap on Qrow and grabbed the gun barrel, hoisting it into the air just as Qrow fired off another shot.

Raven grabbed Qrow’s wrist and wrenched the pistol from his hand and leveled it to the side of his head. She fired off one round only to have Qrow redirect the gun away from his head and lean away from the shot. The bullet traveling down the street and striking a street lamp. Qrow kept this dance up and pulled the pistol away from Raven now, planting a kick to her chest and aiming the gun towards her. Five more shots fired all of them missing while Raven barely made any corrections to her movements.

“You’re getting shaky, adrenaline rush taking over taking over?” Raven asked after she ducked behind the police cruiser.

Qrow looked down at his off hand, saw the way it shook from side to side and exhaled a shaky breath. He swallowed back his nerves and willed himself steady. Rushing forward and darting around the corners of the car, catching Raven by surprise by the look on her face.

“Just let me go Raven, you can tell our father whatever story you want, I’ll disappear and we don’t have to do this, please Raven…” Qrow pleaded and felt the adrenaline take hold of his body again, his hand shaking, causing the pistol to sway in his hand.

“Or else what; you’ll shoot me?” Raven said more so to the pistol than her own brother. Her eyes darted up and narrowed at him, her teeth bared and a low growl uttered under her breath. “Why are you even trying to negotiate right now, you have the fucking gun and you’re still willing to let me live?”

“Because were family, because you’re my sister and because this isn’t a choice either of us should have to make!” Qrow bellowed and stepped forward and in that moment realized his mistake.

Raven grabbed the pistol in Qrow’s hand, pulled it up over her head and kicked her feet out to knock Qrow on top of her. Qrow let go of the pistol to cushion his fall with his hands, leaving Raven to take the gun and roll over on top of him. She pressed her knee to his chest, twirled the gun around her finger and pointed it at Qrow. Her hand steady, her eyes hardened as she pulled the trigger without hesitation.

_~Present day~_

Qrow opened his shirt to show the scar across his collar bone where the bullet had hit and winced at the memory of the gunshot when Ruby placed her tentative fingers against the old wound. She looked up at him, sorrow in her silver eyes and wrapped her arms around his chest, holding him close and tight as she buried her face into his chest.

“I’m sorry that happened Qrow… I’m sorry I asked you.” Ruby said and squeezed onto Qrow as hard as she could.

Qrow’s rips felt like they were ready to snap with how tight Ruby held him, but the feeling of security outweighed the pain against his ribs. He set a hand against Ruby’s head, pushed her hair back along her forehead and pecked a kiss to her forehead.

“You deserve to know what happened Ruby, don’t be sorry. Shortly after that fight though, I wondered through the streets till I came across an old cathedral. Convinced I was going to die,” Qrow grunted at the feel of Ruby squeezing him tighter at the mention of death. “Ozpin found me laying on the steps and helped me out. After that I’m sure you already know the rest… you should get to bed kiddo.”

Ruby shook her head and held tight to Qrow, pin pricks of tears showing in the corners of her eyes.

“Come on, its nearly two in the morning-”

“No!” Ruby snapped and looked up at Qrow. “I wanna sleep here tonight, please I don’t wanna let go of you.”

“Ruby…” Qrow began and pet her head before sighing out and shaking his head, he laid back onto the couch with a grunt and a sigh, Ruby resting her head against his chest like she did when she was a little girl and the feeling of nostalgia took hold. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise, now let’s get some sleep.” Qrow said and felt Ruby nod underneath his hand as the two drifted off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Blake Belladonna groaned herself awake and turned to her alarm clock to see the time read just past ten in the morning. She sat up and groaned again, cursing herself for sleeping in so late and tried to hop up from her bed only to feel Yang’s hand catch her by the waist of her boxers and yank her back down. Blake squeaked as she fell back and felt Yang’s strong arms wrap around her while she nuzzled her face into the back of Blake’s neck. A peck of the lips lighting across her skin that made Blake sigh with content.

“Few more hours~” Yang complained.

“Come on, I have to get up and ready for the noon crowd.” Blake said, half serious in her protests while her hands lay over Yang’s at her waist.

“Those alcoholics can wait a little longer or maybe go to AA instead.” Yang groaned and perked up at the sound of her phone vibrating on the bed side table. She loosened her grip over Blake and rolled over to check the message only to feel Blake slip out of her grasp.

“Those alcoholics are what keep this bar open.” Blake said as she got up and draped a black plaid shirt over her shoulders and rifled around the floor for a pair of pants. Once she found a pair and slipped them on, she leaned over and pecked her lips to Yang’s before hopping away and out of arms reach.

“Alright fine, I’ll come and help out especially since I’m one of those alcoholics.” Yang said

“Who drinks for free.” Blake added with a cocked brow and a smirk.

“Who drinks for free…” Yang repeated and got up, slipping on a pair of boxing shorts and a tank top before following Blake down stairs.

The efficiency apartment the two of them shared sat just above the bar itself, making the commute to work a little easier, but separating work from home a bit harder. Then again when Yang and Blake had any free time to themselves, they spent it at the bar or at home anyway. The two of them just content with each other’s company more than anything else as it was the time that they shared that really mattered. Blake with her bar she kept running near twenty-four seven, and Yang with her consistent career in the octagon.

Yang staggered forward after running into Blake once she reached the bottom of the stairs and peeked over her shoulder to see the expression on her face. Yang knew full well just why she stopped so abruptly as well, the purple flowers with the yellow bulbs sitting in a vase at the counter catching her eye. Yang slipped her arms around Blake’s waist, rested her chin on Blake’s shoulder and smiled at her.

“No special occasion, no news I need to tell you, I just knew these were your favorite.” Yang said and kissed Blake’s cheek.

“You got me Nightshade flowers…” Blake said with touched awe to her voice and wrapped her arm around the back of Yang’s neck to bring her into a kiss.

“You said your dad always used to call you his little nightshade, so I thought they’d be appropriate.” Yang said before pulling Blake around to face her and resting her hands at Blake’s waist while Blake cupped Yang’s face in her hands and deepened the kiss the two shared.

The moment stalled by the sound of Yang’s phone going off, signaling a call. Yang broke away from the kiss and let out a deep sigh and rolled her eyes before pulling away fully.

“You know those flowers probably put me on a government watchlist, Neptune was not happy about that either.” Yang said and looked at the caller ID, she furrowed her brow at how it read ‘Ruby’ “Hello?”

“Yang…? You know how you do that thing where you prove to strangers I’m actually your sister like I say you are especially when no one believes me?” Ruby began.

“Yeah?” Yang replied and mouthed out ‘Ruby’ to Blake to let her know who was calling.

“Well this one is less of a stranger and more of a mutual acquaintance.” Ruby said, failing to hide the excited lilt to her voice.

Before yang could even manage to ask who, a voice on the other end, a familiar one at that, came over the other end of the line.

“Hello again.” Pyrrha said with that familiar tone of half formality.

“Oh, hey Pyrrha, how was the flight back home?” Yang said and hopped up on the bar stool, leaning back against the bar as she talked.

“Luckily we had a private jet so it was nice and peaceful, especially with the full bed.” Pyrrha said with a chuckle. “I didn’t know you had a sister let alone one that went to the school I teach at.”

“You’re a teacher, you’re a gold medalist, you’re a cereal mascot, is there anything you can’t do?” Yang asked.

“Well depending on how our match goes, I might be able to add champion slayer to that roster.” Pyrrha said with a clear tone of jest to her voice, punctuated by the wink she gave Ruby.

“Oh, ho ho ho it is so on now girl!” Yang said.

“With your permission, I’d actually like to invite your family as well, your sister told me a lot about you which I suppose should have been the tip that she really was your sister instead of just a rabid fan.”

Yang bowed her head and smiled at the thought of that. She’d forgotten how many years went by since she’d last seen Ruby or Qrow’s face. She remembered running out the moment she turned sixteen. Using a fake ID to buy a motorcycle from a shady dealership and ripping across the U.S. till she eventually wound up year. Yang nodded subconsciously and chuckled.

“Yeah I think I’d like that, I’d be nice to see them again if nothing else.” Yang said.

“Great, looking forward to our big fight then, catch you later!” Pyrrha said and heard Yang issue her own goodbye before hanging up the phone and handing it off to Ruby. “Before we got on the subject of weather or no you really were related to Yang Xiao Long, you mentioned you had a scholarship program?”

“Oh yeah!” Ruby perked up. “I have the one sword fighter’s scholarship for the college team!”

“Our cross-style weapons team, I’m actually the instructor for the team itself,” Pyrrha said and checked the clock on the phone before moving to dash down the side walk. “And were already late!”

“Right behind you!” Ruby said and dashed off with Pyrrha.

_~Later~_

Pyrrha kept the introduction to the cross-style weapons team short as it only consisted of herself, Jaune, Weiss and Ruby. Much of their training was spent doing basic exercises to warm up and then a three on one match against Pyrrha as a means of ‘testing their skill.’ Between the three of them, Weiss with her fencing, Ruby with her kendo style swordplay, and Jaune with his incoherent flailing, not one of them managed to land a single hit on Pyrrha who only used a single sword herself. By the end of the match, no one traded a single blow against each other and Pyrrha left standing without a single bead of sweat to mark her body.

One couldn’t say the same for her opponents however. Their stances were slack and just slightly off kilter. Their movements sluggish and sloppy. Their strikes telegraphed minutes in advance. It was clear, to Pyrrha at least, that a break was in order. Slipping her training sword into her hand at her side as though it were a sheath, Pyrrha called the mock battle and told everyone to get some rest.

“Jaune, I’d actually like to take some one on one time with you if that’s alright, you seem to need the most attention.” Pyrrha said with a sweetened smile that caused blush to flare up Jaune’s cheeks.

“Actually, I was gonna say maybe I should start at a more intermediate level, maybe you and I could do some one on one action, what do you say Wiess.” Jaune said with a smile and wag of his brow.

Wiess however, ignored this and in favor of a response, she let out a disgusted huff and walked off to the bleachers. Ruby trailed after her with a hopping step, setting her training sword along the bleachers and taking a seat beside Wiess. She fished around her backpack and produced a water bottle from her bag and offered it out to Wiess.

“My name’s Ruby… did you want some water?” Ruby asked.

Weiss strained herself out at the sound of Ruby’s voice and peered over at her with a side long glance, never moving her head a single inch while she kept Jaune and Pyrrha in her periphery. Jaune taking a formal stance and Pyrrha adjusting him just slightly to ensure his footing was proper. In favor of a response to Ruby’s offer, Wiess reached inside of her own bag and produced a thermos and poured herself a cup of warm tea.

“Oh okay, tea drinker huh? I like juice myself but I just brought water this time… my name is-”

“Ruby,” Weiss said. “You already mentioned that.”

“Sorry I didn’t think you heard me is all, I was just trying to be polite and introduce myself…” Ruby said and took a long drag from her water bottle and held the water in her mouth while she looked at the bottle, her brow furrowed before swallowing it back and opening and looking inside. Nothing looking out of the ordinary, just clear water from the fountain. “I think the fountain water has gone bad, taste… burned.”

“You don’t know who I am do you?” Weiss asked and turned to face Ruby and noticed how she squinted and stared for a moment, rubbing her eyes and groaning. “Did you even hear me?” Weiss snapped.

“I’m sorry what?” Ruby began and ran a hand across her forehead and winced, another hand drawing across her abdomen as she groaned and gagged, clapping a hand over her mouth.

“I said my name is Wiess Schnee, do you have any idea who I am?” Weiss demanded and scooted herself further away from Ruby at the way her skin paled on her face and she lurched forward with another gag. “Are… you okay?”

Ruby shook her head and kept her hand pressed to her mouth, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she got up and stormed off to the bathroom. Wiess set her thermos down and got up shortly after, chasing after Ruby. She saw the way she walked. Her gait just slightly off and her shoulders shaking just before vanishing behind the bathroom door. Weiss hesitated for a moment, reaching a hand out to the door knob before reeling back and thinking better of it. She started to walk away before she heard a crash and a flurry of commotion on the other side of the door.

Weiss turned back, burst through the door and saw Ruby shaking uncontrollably, her body convulsing as droll ran down her cheek. A pile of vomit splattered on the floor beside her. Dumb struck, Weiss stood there in disgusted horror, bring a hand up to her mouth to keep the smell of puke away. She snapped herself back into her senses and rushed off to Ruby’s side. She took Ruby’s wrist, and pulled it above her head and rolled her over onto her side so that her head rested on her bicep and her air way would remain clear in the event she puked again.

Hesitantly, Wiess took Ruby’s other hand and counted off in her head, each second ticking by slower than the last. She ground her teeth and felt Ruby’s hand wrap around hers, her body convulsing underneath.

“You’re going to be okay, you’ll be fine…” Weiss said with a breathy sob as though she were trying to reassure herself more so than Ruby.

A solid minute and a half went by before Ruby finally stopped shaking, her body coming to a rest as her breathing leveled out. Her once vacant look in her eyes leaving her for the light of consciousness that she now had.

Ruby looked down and felt something cold in her hand and looked down to see that it was another hand of someone else. Ruby rolled onto her back and saw the hand belonged to Wiess and looked up at her confused and blinked a few times to clear her vision. The taste of puke still on her tongue. She brought up her wrist and wiped her cheek and tried to form words, but not even so much as a noise came out.

The noises she could hear, the way Weiss’s lips moved and the sounds coming out of her mouth. All of it Ruby knew as speaking but couldn’t make out a single word.

“What…?” Ruby finally said, her mind groggy but quickly coming back to her as she forced herself to sit up and shoved Wiess’s hand away from her, still holding onto her head.

“Do you know where you-”

“Schnee Institute of Technology, my name is Ruby Rose, and I’m fine okay, I’m fine!” Ruby snapped and got to her feet, her knees shaking as she walked over to the sink and braced herself there for a moment. She turned on the faucet and took a mouthful of water to wash the taste of vomit from her mouth.

“You have epilepsy, don’t you?” Wiess said and crossed her arms over her chest, staring at Ruby through the mirror. “Don’t bother lying to me either, I already know I’m right. Your quick response to my question and the following answers you gave suggest that this has happened a few times already and I can see you mocking me!”

Ruby was moving her mouth in time to Wiess’s words while her eyes rolled back as she wore a mocking face. When Wiess caught her, she rolled her eyes and turned around to face Wiess.

“If you’re prone to seizures like this, then maybe you shouldn’t be in a contact sport,” Weiss said. “This could kill you if you keep this up…”

“I can’t…”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I have a bunch of scholarships to this school okay?” Ruby snapped again. “Not all of us are rich heiresses to a big company that can pay for college with their allowance, I need this club because I need the scholarship money that comes with it.”

“Alright fine,” Weiss said with a huff. “What about other scholarships, there has to be something else you can do for the money right?”

“Maybe I just want to be left alone about this,” Ruby said, her voice cracking as sorrow wracked her words. Tears welled in her eyes and she palmed them away. “Maybe I just want to be treated like a normal girl instead of someone who’s made of glass… please you can’t tell anyone about this.”

Wiess dropped her hands off to either side, her shoulders slumping with a deep sigh. She looked at the crying, pleading girl before her and then over to the door and pursed her lips. Knowing full well that if word got out about this, everyone would considered her the bad guy for doing one or the other.

“Fine… I won’t tell anyone.” Weiss said and saw Ruby lift her head in surprise, before she said anything more, Wiess pointed her finger in the air next to Ruby’s head. “Under one condition though, you be my sparring partner from now on so you won’t get hit in the head and I don’t have to be partnered up with Jaune, deal?”

Ruby nodded her head and swallowed back another sob.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

It was the Sunday morning after the big fight and Qrow left himself in a better situation than before, at least financially. A few bills dollars down on the fight last night, gambling with the patrons at the bar earned him a bit of money. Not a whole lot but enough to make his already tight money situation fit just a little bit better. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be enough for him to sit too comfortably. During their usual morning routine, Qrow reached for the pill bottle that held Ruby’s medication and flinched with a tinge of concern at the lack of a rattling sound inside. He looked at the bottle, empty of any more pills and sighed.

He looked over to Ruby and then back to the pill bottle and set it onto the counter. Reaching into his pocket he looked at the ill-gotten bills he won from last night, counted them off one by one and growled under his breath. Loud enough that it called Ruby’s attention away from the TV for a moment.

“Sorry, just… clearing my throat, got morning breath is all.” Qrow said, trying to avoid looking her way knowing he had a way of wearing his emotions on his sleeve and knowing Ruby was like her mother in that she could see right through him.

Ruby looked to accept his excuse, at least till she finished off the milk in her bowl of cereal and walked over to the kitchen, setting the bowl in the sink. Qrow couldn’t snatch the pill bottle away fast enough however. Ruby picked it up, looked at it and then back at Qrow who just rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her. Another sighing growl under his breath.

“I forgot to refill your prescription, think you can make it one day without it?” Qrow asked though his eyes were pleading.

“It will be okay, I’ll just take it easy today, nothing too stressful I promise.” Ruby said and reached up to grab her uncle by the collar of his shirt and bring him down to her level. She pecked a kiss to his cheek and smiled before smoothing out his collar again. There was nothing said between the two of them, but that gesture alone washed away the worry and concern that etched itself so deeply into Qrow’s face.

Just like your mother, Qrow thought to himself.

“Is it okay if I go to the college; I wanted to see if Pyrrha was back in town yet.” Ruby asked.

“Yeah go ahead.” Qrow said and tousled Ruby’s hair and watched her skip off to put her shoes on and tap her knuckles against the poster before heading out the door. The moment the door shut and locked behind her, Qrow’s shoulders dropped and a deep sigh deflated his lungs. This did nothing to alleviate the pressure he felt on his chest, the way his sternum ached and felt like his heart was trying to pump cold motor oil.

Qrow brought his hands up to his face, pressed his palms into his eyes and gripped his hair in his fingers. He clenched tight fists in wads of hair, arched his back and let out another pained and frustrated growl. What was he going to do? With his money running and no insurance and no jobs willing to hire him with his identity known to the public, at least not ones that could pay enough to keep a roof over his head let alone pay for Ruby’s medication. Qrow wasn’t just between a rock and a hard pace, he was somewhere underneath both.

Or at least that’s what he thought at first. He remembered his conversation with Winter all those weeks ago when he’d still had a job with the police department. That number she gave him and helped pay for his insurance. Being out of the police force, he was no use to her now so why she would bother helping him at all would be beyond him. But in the back of his mind, he wanted to try, he knew he had no other choice.

Producing his phone from his pocket, Qrow looked at the screen for a moment and grimaced. Even if he wanted to contact her, he didn’t have her number and wouldn’t know how to get it or where to go to find it. Qrow ripped himself out of his thoughts at the sound of a knock at the door.

“What did you forget this time?” Qrow said as he walked over to the door, unlocking and opening the door expecting to see Ruby only to find his prayers answered and his nightmares realized.

Winter Schnee stood beyond the threshold of his doorway with her hands held behind her back. Not even when she was visiting someone did she drop her military bearing. That must have been due to the man standing just behind her. An older man with white streaks along the sides of his head with black grey hair on top. A clean-shaven broad chin and age set into his face not unlike Glynda’s, Qrow remarked to himself. The name tag on his chest of his Atlas Security uniform read “Ironwood.”

Ironwood looked like a man who’d been through the ringer more than once and hardly what Qrow expected from a member of the elite Atlas squad. Fading scar tissue ran over his brow and across his right eye. His eye holding an uncanny glossy look to it and a lifelessness like that of a doll’s. The eye was fake, made of glass or some other material. Ironwood’s right sleeve lay pinned to his shoulder, the arm missing all together.

Qrow wondered what a man like him was doing working with Atlas just till a look of realization came over his face. Ironwood wasn’t just some ordinary veteran who’d lost a good fight, he was the James Ironwood, general of the Atlas Security Agency. The exploits the man was responsible for made him come off as immortal, indestructible, a hero for his country and his people. The former of those at least not being nearly as true as most thought with the man himself standing here now.

“James Ironwood, the hell are you doing on my doorstep?” Qrow said and narrowed his eyes at the man before him. Veteran or not, he was a mercenary captain now, meaning he only saluted a paycheck and nothing else.

“You know of me, not sure if I should be flattered or worried.” James said.

“Worried, because I’m still under contract with the united states government about how I know about you.” Qrow said and kept himself firmly planted in his doorway, the door just slightly drawn across his torso upon recognizing the revolver hanging at James’s left thigh.

“I’m well aware of your career with the CIA Mr. Branwen, as well as the rest of your job history,” James said and paused for a moment. “Legal or otherwise that is.”

“You have five seconds to get the hell out of here before I call the police and three before I get my gun.” Qrow snapped and tightened his grip on the door.

“Qrow can you please be rational, I didn’t come here to harass you I came here with an offer, not an ultimatum.” Winter said and stepped into Qrow’s line of sight, successfully blocking James and Qrow from one another.

Qrow paused in the doorway and loosened his grip over the door, his stance becoming less rigid and his brow raising to come off more casual. With his change in expression, Winter accepted this as permission to continue.

“Atlas Security has taken a look at your job history and while we have done some digging on you, we’ve found that you’d be a prime candidate to join us. Most of our team are the best of the best plucked from the united states military. Your stay with the army is enough to earn you a spot among our ranks, couple that with your career as a police officer as well as your stay with the CIA and-”

“What do you know about that?” Qrow asked.

“Excuse me?” Winter retorted with a furrowed brow.

“My stay with the CIA, what do you know about it?” Qrow asked again.

“Only that you worked for them, that’s all they could or would tell us,” James said. “Regardless though, you’re a very skilled individual Mr. Br-”

“Qrow…” Qrow darted his eyes over to James again. “Not Mr. Branwen, not Branwen either, just call me Qrow…”

“Very well…” James said and drew in a deep breath, continuing. “At the risk of you interrupting me again I’ll just get to the point, we want you to join us, we offer a slew of benefits as well as a decent wage.” Ironwood said and reached inside of his jacket pocket and produced a piece of paper, handing it off to Qrow who took it and read over the contract, his eyes widening after he reached the bottom of the page where he saw a series of numbers. Before he said anything, James said: “That’s not a phone number.”

Qrow read over the contract again, looking for the fine print, the legal jargon, anything that tipped him off that this contract was with a cross roads demon. What he found were medical benefits including vision and dental. Paid time off for at least one month out of the year. And along with that retirement plan. The only negative side he saw to the whole of the contract were the obvious caveats. Insurance taken out of his total pay over the year along with his uniform and any damages he incurred while on duty.

He couldn’t say no, he wanted to, damn it he wanted to crumple up the contract and shove it down James’s throat and slam the door in his face and have a beer to celebrate. But he couldn’t, and he wouldn’t.

“It’s a great opportunity, not one you’ll be offered twice,” Winter asked. “What do you say Qrow?”

“I say…” Qrow paused, pursed his lips and sighed. “You got a pen?”

“This contract is only a copy of the one we will have you sign; the real contract is digital and you’ll be given a copy as well as one for anyone else you request while the Schnee Corporation as well as Atlas will be keeping one of our own. Paragraph five-”

“I can read, you’ll need a full personnel file on me, updated physical, finger prints, the works. The spooks had me do the same thing when I signed on with them.” Qrow said and tapped his knuckles against the wall as he stepped beyond the threshold of the doorway. The gesture was subconscious and Qrow only realized he’d done it after Winter cocked her brow at him. In favor of an answer, Qrow locked the door and started down the hallway ahead of everyone. “Let’s get going.”

_~Later~_

Qrow rode with Winter and James inside of the SUV the two arrived at his apartment complex in. He’d expected a convoy of two more inconspicuous SUVs to be following along with them, but they seemed to have the sense to just leave it at one. When they arrived at Schnee Tower, a building of immaculate architecture that looked carved from ice with the way the clear glass shined with the light of the sun and the steel support beams structured their way like the spreading frost on a snow flake, Qrow felt a familiar reflex take hold of him. His mind picked up the way everyone around him walked and talked, the way they carried themselves kept their faces in this stoic mask of professionalism. He felt himself pull his shoulders back, straighten his back and adopt many of the same attributes as everyone else to blend in as seamlessly as possible.

When Qrow caught himself doing this, he thought if he’d done the same at the Schnee College and realized he didn’t. The conclusion he came to was that he felt threatened here for some reason, but after telling himself he had no reason to be, he resumed his casual stance again. His hands in his pockets, his shoulders dropping and his body loosening up in appearance alone.

At the sound of a screeching voice, Qrow’s body tense up and caused him to snap back into the professional stance that everyone else held themselves to before looking around. He saw a woman with a wide smile and outstretched arms power walking over towards them, her line of sight locked with Winter.

The woman had stark white hair almost matching her skin. Her hair tied into a tight bun at the top of her skull and certain age showing to her face. The woman walked over and embraced Winter without warning nearly causing her to topple over.

“It’s so nice to see you again sweet heart, your father and I never get to see you enough.” The woman said.

“Salem please I’m on duty.” Winter said and tapped Salem’s back, looking off to the side as a hint of blush showed on her cheeks and on her ears, enough so that Qrow took note with a smirk and a scoff.

“Salem?” Qrow asked.

“She’s my step mother, my father remarried after my mother passed away.” Winter said and resumed her professional stance after Salem unlatched herself.

“Liver disease is such a horrible way to go,” Salem remarked.

“Yes,” Winter said and looked over to Qrow. “It certainly is.”

“Salem Schnee, it’s nice to meet you Qrow.” Salem said, switching her attention over to Qrow who was glad to find her offering out her hand instead of embracing him like she had with Winter.

“Funny, I never mentioned my name.” Qrow said and shook Salem’s hand and watched as her face contorted for just a moment. A split second that made Qrow almost think he’d imagined it but knew better than that. The moment was too quick to decipher what it meant however and he decided it wasn’t in his best interest to press it. “Then again as Jacques wife I’d imagine he tells you about the new hires all the time. Especially if they’re going to be toting guns around your home.”

“Speaking of which.” James began.

“Oh yes, Jacques is waiting for you James, I just thought I’d stop by and say hello, have a good day Winter, and I look forward to seeing you again Qrow.” Salem said and waved the two of them off as she walked away.

“Does she always fake being that happy?” Qrow asked as he walked with James and Winter.

“Only around strangers.” Winter replied.

James flashed his badge to the woman at the front desk who smiled and ushered the three of them through. A singular spire ran through the center of the building, running all the way to the top. James scanned his badge at the entrance to the elevator and the doors parted with a chime as they unlocked. An express elevator leading to the top floor. The elevator ride itself spent in silence. Not even any music to keep them company but Qrow imagined the visuals more than made up for it. The windows on the elevator shaft were clear enough to see everything beneath them, sinking away and getting smaller and smaller as they climbed the floors of Schnee Tower. The line of sight cut off once they reached the top of the tower and the elevator enveloped by darkness just till the doors opened and light flooded in.

Just beyond the door, natural sunlight flooded into the room causing a silhouette of a man standing at a desk to appear at the end of the room. The whole of the experience giving off a sense of power and Qrow knew that was exactly what Jacques was going for.

Not one to wait on introductions, Qrow stepped out of the elevator and walked down the length of the office that felt more like a hallway. A single chair left at the front of his desk, cocked to the side as if to welcome anyone coming in. Qrow scoffed and looked back up at Jacques with a cocked brow. There was a moment of silence between the two men as Winter and James stepped up beside him on either side, feeling less like they were here in support and more so here to make sure he couldn’t run away.

“You look like you’re healing up nicely.” Jacques said.

“That concussion you left me with is still leaving me a little foggy so how about we get to the point and I ask you why the hell you’re willing to hire me at all?” Qrow asked and narrowed his eyes at Jacques who just smiled under his mustache and straightened himself where he stood.

“You’re smarter than you look, I’ll admit, I placed my daughter at the station to watch your every move so that we wouldn’t have another incident like we did the last time we met, but my intent was the same as yours. I want to find out who is stealing Dust from me and selling it on the streets.” Jacques said.

“So why not just let the police department handle it, were good at our jobs when you let us do it.” Qrow said.

“When I let them do their jobs…” Jacques corrected. “Regardless, I have a death grip over this city, that is something I will admit to right here and now but you… you were the only one I couldn’t buy, the only one I couldn’t scare, the only one of everyone out there that still held onto that childish ideal of the greater good.”

“So that’s what this is about?” Qrow began. “I wounded your ego so badly that you wanted to prove you could buy my loyalty?”

“I’m not so petty as to waste money on such endeavors, no I’m not here to buy you out of revenge, I’m here to offer you a means of doing your damn job and doing it right this time.” Jacques said and adjusted the tie at his neck. “You may not like me and I certainly loath you, but your job history suggests you’re the perfect man to mount an investigation as to why someone would be stupid enough to steal from me.”

“Once again I’m left with the question as to why you couldn’t just let the police do it for you.” Qrow snapped and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Once again I go back to my previous point, you couldn’t be bought but now your price is suddenly up for negotiation. I’m not doing this to feed my own ego, but I am doing this to ensure that if the investigation yields any negative backlash against me, I have the ability to mitigate all damages.”

“You want to get to the bottom of this, but only if you get to decide how it ends…” Qrow said and watched as Jacques straightened himself out, puffing his chest out and holding his hands behind his back in a proud display.

“Precisely so, you’ll be given the title of Investigator and the equivalent of Military Police ranking.” Jacques said.

“Military Police in the united states military hold the rank of Major, successfully putting you and I on near equal footing as well as outranking every other officer at my disposal.” James said.

“So, what, that means I get a bunch of people calling me sir and saluting me?” Qrow asked.

“You won’t be given a unit, but you will be given freedom to mount your investigation by whatever means you see fit.” Jacques said.

“What’s the catch?” Qrow asked. “You’re basically a cartoon super villain, you even have the mustache for it so I know you’re smart enough to not leave me alone so who is going to be baby-sitting me while I’m on this investigation.”

“I’m glad you finally asked Qrow,” Winter began and smirked at the exasperated expression that came over Qrow’s face. “It will be nice to work with you again, but just because you outrank me doesn’t mean I won’t have the authority to end your career if either myself or my father deem you unfit to lead this investigation.”

Jacques produced his phone from his jacket and scrolled through till he handed it off to Qrow. It was the same contract as before, nothing changed save for the ability to share a digital copy with others via email or other means. Qrow took the phone and read over the contract one last time, shared it with himself, Ruby, Yang, and Glynda before signing it himself. After which Jacques asked him to press his thumb against the home button of the phone where the device scanned his finger print and displayed it alongside his printed signature.

“Welcome aboard Atlas Security Investigator.” Jacques said with a scoff and a smirk.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

A few days into the job and Jacques spared no expense when it came to getting Qrow to work. An office set up towards the upper floors with a nice view of the city. A desk and chair set up and waiting for him and to top it all off a computer that the IT department of Schnee Industries were ready to customize for him. He opted for something simplistic, not needing it to stream high definition videos or movies or anything, after all this was for work not for fun. But what he did appreciate is the addition of an Artificial Intelligence assistant.

The IT department assured Qrow that it was nothing like it was in the movies where it would grow to hate humanity and plot its destruction. Rather they called it a ‘dumb AI’ because the system itself didn’t have any form of free thought, rather it was a program following a flow chart. If Qrow said jump, the computer would respond how high only because that was the protocol the programming would have it follow.

A nice touch was the ability to name it as well, so long as it wasn’t a string of gibberish Qrow could ask the IT egg heads to make him sound like and respond to the name of Batman’s Butler or even KITT from Night Rider. In the end however, he decided on a woman’s voice pitch shifted from memory as she was based from someone Qrow once knew.

“Summer…” Qrow began and heard the computer chirp in response.

“What’s up… Qrow,” The computer responded and the response almost human save for the pause in pronouncing his name.

“Pull up a data base for all employees in Schnee.” Qrow said and heard the projector click on and display an image on a screen across the room. The screen flooded with well over one thousand people on it all at once. Realizing his mistake, Qrow rolled his eyes and narrowed down the search to more exact results. “Summer, narrow it down to only employees who work for Schnee Pharmaceutical.” Qrow said and then added: “And only employees that work at this local operation.”

The pictures of the employees shrank down to a more manageable size if only by comparison. The one thousand pictures became only a few hundreds. Qrow stroked his chin and looked at each of the names, realizing he couldn’t rule anyone out and noticed Atlas employees were not present.

“Summer, add any and all local Atlas Security employees.” Qrow said and watched the list grow with all the personnel from Atlas Security including Winter and James. Qrow paced the length of his office and walked over to the window, looking out over the city sky line, everyone walking bellow him like line of ants rushing off to do the bidding of the colony. From where he stood, Qrow felt like a kid with a magnifying glass trying to burn out one bug out of the millions. “Summer, remove all employees that signed on with Schnee within the past… three years.”

The employee list shrank about as much as Qrow expected. Only about fifteen percent or so but it removed the least likely candidates of them all.

“Sumner, start a secondary folder, title it ‘Primary Suspects’ and put the following employees on that list: James Ironwood, Winter Schnee, Salem Schnee, Jacques Schnee…” Qrow paused for a moment and looked away as the employee files were added to a sperate folder upon his orders. A twinge of thought crossed through his mind. “Summer, look up Roman…”

A pause, a moment to let an advanced AI think over his request. A matter of seconds that passed on for eternity before Summer finally responded and a feeling of hope swelled in Qrow’s chest at the prospect of a lead, only to realize it was only hope.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t find an employee by that name… but I did find this?” Summer said with mock sympathy to her voice, enough so that Qrow vocalized his forgiveness for her and looked at the documents she pulled up at his request. Roman numerals, Roman gods, Roman Catholic Church, nothing that would help his investigation.

Qrow perched himself at his desk and ran a hand along his chin, feeling the stubble there and sighed in consideration. He looked out over the city skyline from his view in his office as if to perhaps see that redhead in a bowler hat from this vantage point. He stopped and looked to the side, considering something else for a moment. The name may not even be real, could just be a call sign, an alias he used. One of perhaps hundreds more.

There was one way he could narrow it down, see if his suspicions were just that or if there was some weight to his gut feeling. Qrow produced his phone from his pocket and looked at the contacts there before slipping the smart phone back into his pocket and heading out of his office. The door locking with a click just behind him while Winter stood before him. All at once he was thankful he managed to get out of his office since he knew Winter would have something to say about her profile being in his primary suspects.

“Afternoon inspector…” Winter said with a wary lilt to her voice. “I was just about to check on you, see how you’re adjusting to the new office.”

“Office is great, getting a little stir crazy though, gonna get coffee. You want some?” Qrow said and pushed past Winter without waiting for her to respond. Not two steps away and he could already hear her shoes clicking just behind him as she dug her heels into the ground with each step.

“I suppose I could do with a cup of coffee but I have to ask what’s gotten into you?” Winter asked and followed Qrow off to the elevator just before the doors shut on the two of them.

“You know when you got an idea and you really wanna test it out to see if you’re right or not?” Qrow asked and leaned against the wall of the elevator and realized he was the only other person inside save for Winter herself. “It’s something like that.”

“Well good I was about to say that my father wanted to let you know that he would like a report on your investigation every week, I suppose he’s just as anxious to know what’s going on as you are.” Winter said.

“Or he just wants to keep the leash taut.” Qrow said under his breath and felt Winter’s eyes on him. He looked up from the floor and gave her a side long glance, not even so much as turning his head to face her as he stared off into space, deep consideration marking his eyes and causing them to glaze over. As the moment passed him by, he reached over to the elevator panel and hit the emergency stop button, keeping the elevator between floors and well beyond their intended destination.

“What the hell has gotten into you Inspector?” Winter snapped after she regained her footing after the sudden and abrupt stop.

“Something like anxiety, I finally have resources enough to mount an investigation without worrying about if I’m going to step on the wrong toes and lose my job or come home with a few more cracked ribs and a black eye.” Qrow paused and took a deep breath. “I’m anxious, I want answers now but I need somewhere I can make a call outside of Schnee’s ear shot and before you say just make the call here the egg heads in IT already told me that this place listens to every call as a precaution, when I grilled your dad about it he said it was to help the investigation.”

“Naturally you think he’s full of shit.” Winter said and Qrow looked towards her fully, a look of awe to his face at the sudden use of profanity. Like hearing a nun use God’s name in vain. “Like I said when we first met Inspector, I’ll be honest with you if you’re honest with me. Now there is a café three blocks south of here. It’s better than the motor oil they serve down in the café at the entrance, what do you say you let me buy you a cup?”

Winter offered out her hand to Qrow who looked down at it and realized that this wasn’t just some deal to go on a pseudo-date between co-workers, this was a reminder of a previous agreement. He thought back to his folder on his computer and how he’d added Winter’s profile to his list of suspects. He knew better than to remove her now more than ever, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to.

Qrow clapped his hand to Winter’s and shook on the agreement before releasing the emergency stop and riding the elevator down to the bottom floor, mostly uninterrupted. The two spent the rest of the time in silence as they walked out of the building and off towards the coffee shop. The walk there being rather spacious even in a big city, but then again that was no doubt due to the wide berth everyone on the side walk gave them. A pair of Atlas Security operatives walking down the street in full uniform with pistols strapped to their thighs was apt to catch and warrant that kind of attention.

It was for that same reason the barista didn’t ask any questions when Qrow asked to use the phone at the café while Winter placed their order. One thing Qrow couldn’t help but smirk and scoff at was that Winter took her coffee the same way he did, no cream, no sugar, just black. In favor of making a remark about how that suited her, Qrow dialed up a number and listened to the dial tone drone on.

“Remnant Police Department, this is Chief of Police Glynda Goodwitch speaking.” Glynda began.

“Hey Chief, it’s me…” Qrow responded and felt the air around him shift as though he and Glynda were in the same room again.

“What are you doing calling me from this number, and you don’t work for me or the city anymore so you can cut the Chief thing.” Glynda said with a humors sigh to her voice.

“I hate to ask this but I need a favor.” Qrow said.

“I’ll spare you the joke about asking who you are and what you’ve done with the real Qrow, I suppose I should just be impressed you’re actually asking for help.”

“Hey you said it yourself, I don’t work for you anymore so keep it up I dare you.” Qrow said with a smile he could feel to his voice. “You remember the Dust case?”

“The very same case that you shouldn’t be working on since you’re not an officer of the law, yes I’m familiar with it.” Glynda said.

“We got a lot of catching up to do, you free?” Qrow asked.

“Tell me where you’re at and I’ll be over.” Glynda said and Qrow gave her the address of the café before hanging up and thanking the barista for allowing him to use the phone.

Qrow took his seat towards the back of the café with his back facing a wall. Winter sat across from him and leaned over the table with both gloved hands around her cup of still steaming coffee. Qrow kept his eyes on the entrance and perked up at the sight of a head of familiar blond hair. He raised his hand over his head and gestured Glynda over to the table where she sat beside Winter.

“That uniform suits you.” Glynda said.

“I like my old one better.” Qrow retorted.

“You call those worn out slacks and that grey button down a uniform?” Winter sneered at the thought of it.

“Like you’re one to talk about fashion choices, I’ve never seen you out of that uniform.” Qrow said with a slight smirk on his face, an expression Glynda noticed herself and scoffed loud enough to catch Qrow’s attention. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, just glad to see you’re doing well for yourself Qrow, now about the Dust case?” Glynda said.

“Long story short,” Qrow began and leaned back in his chair, swirling the remains of his coffee in his cup. “Jacques wants to know what’s going on but he wants it done his way. I need you to throw me a bone here too, I need you to look up someone by the name of Roman, that’s the only name I got from my previous case.”

“You didn’t think to look him up while you were still working with the police?” Winter asked.

“Between getting out of the hospital, getting you as a baby sitter, and getting fired for having drugs planted on me I was a little busy. Unlike you I’m not married to my work.” Qrow remarked.

“I’m not married to my work.” Winter said, her unusually calm tone cracking with the slightest bit of emotion.

“Excuse me it just owns the deed to your soul.” Qrow continued.

Glynda cleared her throat to catch their attention, her demeanor enough to slap both Qrow and Winter back to their days in basic training.

“Right…” Winter said.

“Sorry…” Qrow said. “Point being if this guy has a criminal record or any kind of record it will be a lot easier to figure out just where he’s getting his supplies from rather than going through Schnee and working our way down.”

“Alright,” Glynda said and crossed her legs, leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. She peered down her nose at Qrow and held this pose for a moment while she considered her options. Qrow meanwhile tried not to squirm under her gaze. “There is something I can help you with and something you can help me with too, a sort of two birds one stone deal. Do you remember the case a few years ago, of that maniac in the street we found with enough Dust in his system to kill twelve people?” Glynda asked and watched Qrow nod his head.

“Yeah took nothing short of a shotgun blast to the chest to finally get him down, thing is that wasn’t the only case of that happening though, it cropped up a lot over the years.” Qrow began.

“Not as much though, Dust is still going missing from Schnee shipments, but these people these junkies have all but vanished.” Winter said.

“Almost, we're finding corpses a plenty of these people, some of them buried in mass graves, others burned to a crisp or just dropped in random locations. The thing is beyond the obvious that they all have Dust in their system they’ve all had similar wounds across their bodies. Bruises, knife wounds, broken bones. Even weirder some of them have had… modifications shall we say? Metal plates inserted along the knuckles or even teeth replaced with steel barbs.” Glynda said.

“You want body mods you use titanium not steel, it’s obvious the people doing this don’t care if their victims last too long. Then again it also sounds a lot like the kind of stuff we’ve seen in animal fighting rings. The way people use to put razor wire on the talons of a rooster in cock fighting rings or replace the teeth on pit bulls.” Qrow said.

“The problem is any time I’ve given the order to investigate these things further everyone comes up empty handed. The only lead that’s gotten me anywhere is that people have started calling these poor souls The Grimm” Glynda said.

“So, someone is running around stealing up these junkies, these Grim, and forcing them to fight each other and your guys can’t find a damn thing, why does that not surprise me.” Qrow said and stroked his chin. “Jacques admitted to me he paid off a few of the guys at the station, but till one of you two hear it that’s not gonna hold up in court so I guess I’ll chase this lead down and see where it goes.”

“You’re not going alone on this.” Winter snapped and turned to face Qrow to drive home her point.

Qrow, in response, eyed Winter from head to toe and scoffed with a smirk.

“You’re not coming with me in that, we march in there with Atlas Security uniforms and we walk out looking like swiss cheese.” Qrow said and flinched at the feel of his phone buzzing and checked the message sent to him.

“I can loan you some clothes if you’d like or we can go shopping, have a girl’s afternoon, what do you say?” Glynda said.

“Sounds good to me because I need to duck out, Ruby wants to meet up really quick, says it’s important, call me later tonight; we’ll rendezvous at my place.” Qrow said and waved the two women off to enjoy what remained of their coffee.

“So is this going to stay professional or are you going to jump on that because he’s the closest thing to a son I have and I wouldn’t mind being a grandma.” Glynda said and smirked at the way Winter choked on her coffee.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

“Okay we got cake, we got flowers-” Qrow began.

“You made sure to get roses this time, right?” Ruby asked. “Those are mom’s favorite you know.”

“One dozen red roses, I remembered this time.” Qrow said and ruffled Ruby’s hair with a smile. The two of them walked down the street with a small cardboard box in hand that contained a strawberry and angel food cake from a local bakery. It was no more than a personal sized cake that was about twice the size of Qrow’s palm. It was the perfect size however since not many people would be eating it. Along with the cake had been a set of complimentary candles at the mention of celebrating a birthday.

Qrow handed off the cake to Ruby and stepped around to the driver's side of the car while Ruby hopped in the front. Looking back, she saw a bouquet of roses sitting in the back and gave Qrow a smile of approval, one he returned before starting the car.

The car itself being compliments of the new job he held, knowing full well that when the winter months rolled around it was best to have something with four wheels and a roof since his bike would need to go into storage. Along with the means of comfort and convenience at not having to rely on the public transportation system, it also afforded Qrow and Ruby some quiet time as they drove along the city.

The drive was only about ten minutes from their last destination at the bakery, but every year it felt longer and longer. Qrow supposed that might have something to do with how every year storm clouds hung over head, nearly blotting out the sun save for a few rays that peeked through the gloom. Perhaps it was the pressure to the air as they pulled up to the city cemetery, that unyielding weight that made didn’t make it hard to breath, but held an oppressive feel to it. Like it was almost inappropriate to even draw a breath.

Just up ahead, Qrow saw a familiar face dressed in a green scarf and felt some of that pressure removed from his chest. Ozpin must have felt eyes on him as he looked over to Qrow just as he pulled up with the car. Qrow nodded to the old man and Ozpin did so in return.

Ruby hopped out of the car and bounded off to meet Ozpin with the cake in hand, leaving Qrow to grab the flowers from the back and the blanket from the trunk.

“I see you remembered to bring the right flowers this time Qrow.” Ozpin said with a teasing smile.

“Yeah, only ‘cause someone made sure to remind me.” Qrow said and handed off the flowers to Ozpin so he could drape the blanket over the floor right before a singular headstone with a rose etched into the granite. Ruby took her seat at the blanket while Qrow took the flowers back from Ozpin and set them at the base of the headstone. He set his hand at the top and felt the rough cold stone under his hand and sighed. “Happy birthday Summer…”

“Happy birthday mom!” Ruby chirped.

“Happy birthday Summer.” Ozpin said and sat beside Ruby and Qrow on the blanket.

Ruby took the cake out of the cardboard box and set the candles in on by one, only setting in four in total while Qrow lit them one by one. In unison, Ruby, Qrow, and Ozpin sang the happy birthday song for the late Summer Rose. Each person blowing out a singular candle before having their respective piece cut for them while the last piece kept its candle lit while Qrow set it alongside the roses.

Every year they celebrated Summer Rose’s birthday, every year Qrow looked on at her grave and the grave that sat beside it and wondered just how Summer’s little girl kept that smile on her face. Taiyang Xiao Long, Summer’s husband, Ruby and Yang’s father’s tomb stone sitting right beside hers.

Qrow took a bite of the cake and tried not to grimace. It was so sweet it made him feel sick down to his stomach. His throat tightened as if it would refuse him to let him swallow but he ate the cake regardless. Swallowing it back hard and shoving another piece into his mouth knowing there was nothing wrong with the cake, it was just the day they always had it on.

Qrow couldn’t shake the thoughts away no matter how hard he tried, his mind wrapped with the events that led up to this point. Summer’s and Tai’s passing, Ruby coming to live with Qrow after having no one else to go to. Yang running off after her parents passed.

It was brain cancer, a tumor the size of a golf ball and growing in Summer’s head causing serious migraines and resulting in the loss of vision in one eye and epileptic episodes. By the time they caught it, chemotherapy could only do so much before Summer moved into the hospital where she stayed. Weeks went by and her condition only got worse to the point where she refused chemo, realizing it was an uphill battle that would only prolong the inevitable. In Qrow’s mind, he could see Summer in her prime and he blinked the thought away only to have her appear again. This time with dark circles under her eyes and pail skin. He winced at the sight and tried to blink it away again. Again, the image came back worse. Summer with thinning hair and a slack sunken face more like a skull dipped in wax than a real human face. He drew in a breath, shut his eyes tight this time, hoped to god that when he opened them again he wouldn’t see what he thought he would. When he opened his eyes again he saw Summer’s emaciated form, her head shaved, a breathing mask over her face and an IV tube in her wrist.

He felt a bony hand clutch his, the skin cold and clammy while a hoarse voice called out to him. He read Summer’s lips, her voice too far gone to make out the words anymore and heard her say. “You’ll be okay…”

It was at that time Qrow snapped himself from his mind and felt a hand clutching his and realized it was Ruby’s. He came back to his senses and heard the rumble of thunder off in the distance and looked up to the sky. Ozpin rose and dusted himself off while Ruby did the same to allow Qrow to roll up the blanket.

“Someone got the time?” Qrow asked, more edge to his voice than he intended.

“Just after five, it looks like it’s about to rain so I think that is our cue to pack up anyway.” Ozpin said after pocketing an old antique watch and holding his hands behind his back.

“I have a something with the investigation tonight, you two okay to hang out while I take care of that?” Qrow asked. “I know its short notice but everything seems like its springing on me with the-”

“You needn’t worry, if Ms. Rose will have my company I’d be delighted to spend time with her tonight.” Ozpin said and beamed a smile over at Ruby who returned the smile, a look of knowing between the two that Qrow couldn’t translate beyond mischief.

_~later~_

Qrow told Ruby and Oz they’d have free range of the house while he was gone for the night right after he managed to find something to wear. He rifled through some of his old clothes, much of them smelling like body odor, fried food, or hard liquor. Stress and work kept him busy and an inability to make time lately kept him from doing laundry, but right now a ratty tee shirt was just what he needed at the time.

He picked up an old Rancid band t-shirt and held it up to his nose and took a whiff, out of all of them this one smelled the cleanest. He stripped off the shirt he was wearing and slipped on the one he was holding and rolled his shoulders with a grunt.

“That looks a little small on you.” Ozpin remarked and cocked a brow.

“I had it from when I was back in high school, you know when I used to weigh ninety pounds soaking wet, little tight but it doesn’t look too bad does it?” Qrow asked and watched as Ozpin and Ruby looked at each other and then back to Qrow.

“You wanna help me get rid of all his old clothes?” Ruby asked Ozpin.

“You know we are going to have a donation drive down at the church within the week, I think they’d appreciate your donations.” Ozpin replied and smirked at the way Qrow rolled his eyes.

“I’m keeping my leather jacket, you don’t get to just throw that out after the number of patches I’ve collected on that thing.” Qrow said, pointing over to Ozpin to make his point before slipping the well-worn Jacket over his shoulders. Once again, a ripped, torn, scrapped and patched relic of his high school days.

At the feel of a buzzing in his pocket, Qrow pulled out his phone to see a message from Winter stating that she was outside and that she wasn’t about to leave her car unattended. Qrow scoffed and started for the door, waving off Ozpin and Ruby before tapping his knuckles against Yang’s poster.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Ruby yelped and hopped from her perch, rushing around to block the doorway where she hopped in place with a big smile on her face. “I almost forgot to tell you, Pyrrha gave us tickets to Yang’s big fight and she even paid to get us there too, can we go please!?”

“If the tickets are already paid for its not like we can say no, I’ll tell the boss I’m taking some vacation time tomorrow, it will be nice to see your sister again.” Qrow said and pat Ruby’s head as he stepped out the door.

When he made his way down to the bottom floor and saw a white-haired figure leaning against their car, Qrow recoiled at the realization of who it was. Winter stood with her arms crossed over her chest. A red and black flannel shirt with a black lace up v neck and a pair of acid washed ripped jeans with a pair of black calf high boots.

“I already don’t feel comfortable wearing this so spare me the ridicule and get in the car.” Winter snapped, storming over to the driver side and stepped in.

Qrow sat in the passenger side only to have Winter hand him a gun. He looked at the pistol in her hand and then back over to her to see Winter cocking her brow at him, silently asking him if he was going to take it.

“These aren’t going to do us much good, they keep pretty tight security on underground fights like this.” Qrow said and took the pistol, checking the side and seeing that the safety was already on.

“And you would know this how?” Winter said and pulled out of her parking spot and drove down the street. She looked to the passenger side at the feel of eyes on her and saw Qrow with a look that asked her if she was seriously asking him that question. “Right, I forgot you weren’t always a police officer, where am I headed anyway?”

“Well the first thing we need to do is get some information, find out where the fights are being held and go from there.” Qrow said and scanned his eyes along the horizon. He wasn’t even driving nor was he on duty, but the old habit of keeping his senses honed outwards kept him alive this long and had since become second nature.

“Already ahead of you, when Glynda and I were out shopping we met with one of her men and they let something slip about the case. Needless to say Glynda doesn’t know who assaulted her officer like that since she didn’t see who did it, but there is a fight going on at a bar down by the docks. Someone by the name of Junior Xiong is hosting.” Winter said and turned to see the look on Qrow’s face was a mixture of surprise and pride directed towards her. Winter allowed herself to smirk just the slightest bit at the sight of him.

“Well alright, we're in business.” Qrow said and leaned back in his seat with a half smirk on his face and holstered the gun in his belt loop behind his back.

When the two arrived at the docks, the sounds of shouting and whistling almost drowned out the sound of the music playing. A heavy metal track to get the crowd hyped for the combatants no doubt fighting just inside the ratty warehouse tuned fight club for one night.

Winter parked her car along with a few other like vehicles, their ride blending in seamlessly with everyone else’s while their attire allowed them to do the same. A short line flowed out of the door of the warehouse, no more than ten or twelve people in total. Not willing to wait for their turn, Qrow bypassed the line much to the annoyance of everyone else. Winter reached out a hand one second too late to stop him and just rolled her eyes as he watched him walk along the line before chasing after him. When Qrow reached the front, he hadn’t bothered to look back, only knocking on the door and watching the eye slat slide open and seeing a pair of eyes regard him for a second before going wide. The door opened and a tall burly man stood in the doorway.

Junior Xiong had a full head of hair but kept it short and shaved while it blended seamlessly down into a full beard. His attire spoke to some semblance of class or service since he looked more like a bar tender with his white shirt, black vest and matching slacks.

“Mr. Branwen,” Junior said and peeked over Qrow’s shoulder upon seeing the crowd take a step back while they all began to murmur to themselves. “I’d be honored if you and your date would join me in the executive booth tonight, but I must ask you to surrender any weapons you might have on your person at the time.” Junior said with mock formality and adjusted his tie.

“I don’t know who you’re trying to impress with that act Junior.” Qrow said and produced his pistol from behind his back and handed it over to Junior. He looked back to Winter with a look of both do the same and I told you so.

Winter acquiesced to this, pulling her gun out from the inside of her boot and handed it off to Junior before following him inside. The large metal door slammed shut behind them while profanity filled the air as the fight persisted just till a roar of cheering and cursing from both sides of the warehouse went up and a bell sounded signaling the end of the fight.

“Hope we didn’t miss all the action.” Qrow said over the roar of the crowd.

“Of course not, the crowd wants blood and they’ll get it tonight,” Junior said and handed off both pistols to one of the men at the door and said something to him neither Winter nor Qrow could decipher over the noise of the crowd. “Come with me, you are guests here and I’m not about to have you sit with the rabble.” Junior gestured them to follow him up a flight of stairs where the two ushered into a well-furnished office overlooking the ground floor of the warehouse.

Junior turned the warehouse into an octagon with bleachers filled with people on all eight sides of the ring. The ring itself surrounded by chain link fencing and barbed wire topping it off. The only way in or out of the ring was a singular walk way sectioned off by more chain link fencing. A pair of men dragged the body of the previous fighter out the same walk way while a third held the winner in place by an animal catcher pole with a cord wrapping around his neck and a length of piping keeping the lunatic at a safe distance. The inside of the ring was no more than sawdust covering the floor but it wasn’t meant for cushioning, only something to soak up the blood that sprayed across the ring.

“Grimm Fights huh?” Qrow said and looked around the office and saw a table filled with various weapons. Large knives, tire irons, lengths of pipe, crowbars, sledge hammers and even a few axes and hatchets.

“Just like the gladiators, people love it and it’s been a great way to square up some debts.” Junior said and took a seat, gesturing Qrow to do the same.

“I’m not here to watch the fights, I just need to ask you a few questions, like what you mean by paying off debts.” Qrow said.

“We make a deal with people that have an outstanding debt to me or my clients, they get in the ring with a Grimm and if they survive then their debt is paid off, if not then… oh well.” Junior said with a dark chuckle.

“That is absolutely barbaric, these are people!” Winter snapped and gestured out to the ring.

“These are lowlifes and junkies, I’m doing the world a favor but if you want to play the bleeding-heart card you can pay me more than someone is offering me to buy these things.” Junior said.

“You have buyers lined up?” Qrow asked.

“Any idea what they plan on doing with them?” Winter asked.

“I don’t know nor do I really care, they’re willing to pay me cash for these things and take them off my hands.” Junior said and nodded back to the ring. “We take bets if you want to make a bit of money yourself.”

“And these?” Qrow asked and looked at the crow bar on the table, picked it up and tossed it into the air before catching it and inspecting the metal. It was heavy in his hand, about the length of his leg and curved at the top. Flecks of blood still stained the bow of the bar while rust set in along everywhere else there wasn’t paint.

“To make things interesting,” Junior said and leaned back in his chair, his legs crossing over one another with a relaxed smile on his face. “Fight gets a little dull with a live one I’ll throw in a weapon and see how they fair, but turns out the Grimm still know how to use these things too so you gotta act fast.”

“Is that so?” Qrow asked and smirked with a scoff before looking over to Winter and then over to the door. Winter understood his gaze and stepped over to the door, leaning up against it with her back. Qrow turned back to Junior, the two shared a smile before Qrow looped the bow of the bar around the back of Junior’s neck and yanked him off his seat and threw him into the wall forcing him back to the point where Junior nearly fell over the edge. Qrow kept him in place with the crowbar pressed to his neck, pressing down hard enough to choke him. “You’re gonna tell me who’s buying the Grimm or things are gonna get really interesting in a second here.”

“Fuck you Branwen, you really think I’m gonna fall for that bad cop shit?” Junior croaked out and forced a smile. “I know you used to be a pig and I know you won’t throw me to the wolves.”

“And you know so much about me don’t you Junior?” Qrow growled and pressed harder down onto Junior’s throat. “Then you should know that I wasn’t always a cop and I’ve done worse things to better people, now talk or you go over the-”

A knock at the door called Qrow’s attention and Winter turned to answer it, cracking the door open just the slightest bit to see a man in a bowler hat with a cigar hanging out of his mouth standing there. Just as Winter was about to dismiss them, Qrow saw who it was and loosened his grip over Junior. The look of realization on both Roman and Qrow’s face stunned the two men giving Junior enough room to seize Qrow by the collar of his shirt and throw him end over end into the ring.

Qrow landed with a hard thud on his back and groaned out in pain as he tried to catch his breath after having the wind knocked out of him. He looked up and then over to the Grimm in the cage with him and hopped to his feet just as the beast of a man tried to pounce on him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, place your final bets for the night as this one is bound to be a brawl for the ages!” Junior shouted over the PA system and threw the crow bar into the ring where the Grimm managed to snatch it up before Qrow had the chance.

Winter shoved her way past Junior and saw Qrow on his feet, dodging out of the way of every wide blow the Grimm tried to land on him.

“Qrow!” Winter shouted.

“Go after the red head, take him alive!” Qrow bellowed out over the crowd, his eyes locked on his opponent while he dodged out of the way. Even with the manic swings of the Grimm, Qrow didn’t have enough time to retaliate or close the gap.

The click of a hammer pulled back on a pistol rang in Winter’s ear. She was able to turn just enough to see in her periphery the gun in Junior’s hand before he pressed the barrel into the side of her head.

“Were going to step outside for a moment, why don’t you just enjoy the show okay?” Junior asked, a faux plea to his voice.

Winter played out the scene in her head. Just like in training only the risk was real now and there were no take backs if she didn’t get it right the first time. Her muscles tensed and she willed them to stay in place as she ran the scene through her head one last time, summoned up a breath to her chest and executed her training. In one swift motion, she pulled the gun away from her head, ripped it from Junior’s hand and held the barrel under his chin and felt the trigger underneath her finger.

This close, she could smell his breath, see his eyes dilate with adrenaline and see a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. Her eyes darted between his eyes and she bared her teeth, striking her palm into his chest to force him back into his chair and pulling the trigger. A bullet ripping through Junior’s knee cap to keep him from running away.

In her momentary daze, she’d neglected to remember Roman and heard foot steps clambering down the stairs while the crowd still roared and cheered, demanding blood from the latest fight. Knowing it was one or the other, Winter picked up a sledge hammer from the table and tossed it onto the ring before rushing down the stairs herself, crashing through the warehouse door and seeing Roman in her line of sight. At the sight of the gun however, the crowd just outside scattered, making a clear shot impossible.

The sound of a truck horn blaring caused everyone to stop, even causing Winter to lower her pistol in surprise just before a semitruck rounded the corner, threatening to topple over at the speeds it was going. With its headlights blaring, the figures around her turned into nothing more than silhouettes while the metal beast before her roared and charged its way forward. Winter threw herself off to the side and out of the way of the truck and saw the red headed man stick his head out the window and wave her off with a smile on his face. He said something to her, but Winter directed her attention more so at the license plate of the truck.

_DSE 205_

If nothing else, she and Qrow…

“Qrow!” Winter yelped to herself and shot to her feet, rushing into the warehouse again and shoved her way through the crowd till she managed to get to the front of the chain link fence. Purple and black bruises splotched across Qrow’s skin mixing with the red from his blood as his wounds split open from various blows, but he was still standing with the Grimm at his feet and a sledgehammer held over his head. Qrow’s jacket long since abandoned. Qrow raised the sledgehammer above his head and the crowd roared around him as he brought the hammer head down onto the Grimm’s head. A spray of blood covering the front row of people while Qrow raised the hammer again and dropped it onto the body over and over with a blood lust howl till eventually there was no head anymore and head of the hammer splintered off the wooden handle.

Qrow tossed the remainder of his weapon off to the side and looked around as if just now noticing the crowd around him. The cheers died in everyone’s throats as the audience looked to one another searching for answers no one had as to how to act right now.

“Someone call the police, the rest of you get out of here…” Qrow said and picked up the crowbar and hobbled over to the hall leading into the ring. With a quick jerk, he snapped the lock from the gate and walked out to see dozens of people scrambling around, piling into their cars and peeling out in all directions.

His mind snapped from its daze at the feel of someone slapping a pack of cigarettes to his chest and pointing over to him.

“You earned those my friend, you made me a very wealthy man tonight.” The stranger said with a smile before stepping into his car and vanishing into the night.

“Happy to help.” Qrow said and placed one of the cigarettes between his lips and lit it up with the lighter provided and took a drag only to have Winter pluck the cigarette from his mouth and replace it with her lips. She parted his lips with her own and sucked the smoke from his lungs before pulling away and blowing the smoke in his face and taking a drag from her stolen cigarette.

Qrow produced another from the pack and in retaliation, clapped a hand down onto the back of Winter’s neck brought her in close and used his previous cigarette to light his new one, took a drag and blew the smoke into the night air.

“First time seeing combat.” Qrow said around the cigarette, punctuating his statement with a side long glance at Winter.

“Yeah,” Winter began and paused after hearing how shaken her own voice was. She took another drag and blew the smoke away before speaking again. “Yeah it was, but it’s not my first time doing this…” Winter said and flicked the remains of her cigarette away and locked her lips with Qrow’s and felt him deepen the kiss.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

That display of fury, the ease of the kill, the strength behind each blow as Qrow slammed the hammer down onto the Grimm’s head again and again. The crunching of the bone indistinguishable from the splintering of the wood just till the steel head of the hammer snapped off with the final blow. The body at Qrow’s feet lay limp, a puddle of blood, bone, and brain matter in place of where a head just was. At the sound of his voice, Winter pulled herself from his trance and stood still as the sea of people washed away around her.

As Qrow moved to the exit and snapped open the lock, Winter circled around the ring to meet him and paused when she encountered the man. When the two just exchanged words, Winter felt her adrenaline and residual battle fever begin to finally die down.

With her senses returning to her in a better, but still clouded state of mind, she stormed over to Qrow. Digging her heels into the pavement below, knowing she wasn’t sure what she was going to do when she got to him. What she did surprised her just as much as it surprised Qrow.

The way she plucked the cigarette from his mouth and pressed her lips to his and tasted the smoke and nicotine still in his mouth made Winter long for the draw of a cigarette. She’d smoked when she was younger and quit by telling herself how many days she shaved off her own life with every filter she flicked into the trash. After taking the smoke right out of Qrow’s lungs however, she realized why she started smoking at all.

Winter held the smoke in her lungs for a moment and exhaled a breath subconsciously, blowing the smoke into Qrow’s face and watching him just stare at her while she did.

“First time seeing combat.” Qrow said, Winter noting how it wasn’t a question.

“Yeah…” Winter said and winced mentally at the sound of her own voice shaking, at the memories it brought of her in basic training with Atlas Security, of all the times she wasn’t sure she could go any further, the very moment she was in right now. “Yeah it was,” Winter said, stronger this time. “But it’s not my first time doing this.” Winter flicked the cigarette away and watched herself draw closer to Qrow, grabbing onto his shirt collar and bringing him in close till their lips met again and felt Qrow’s hands settle at her hips as he leaned into the kiss.

She watched herself do this as if she were not in control of her own actions, but she hadn’t cared enough to stop herself at this point and just let the moment exist for as long as she would allow herself to have it.

Winter pushed herself away from Qrow and felt him begin to retreat before she draped her arms over his shoulders, her eyes locking with his as the two spoke without words. The shine to their eyes saying everything that they needed to.

“Meet me at the car.” Winter said and pulled herself away from Qrow’s body, the cold night air piercing into her form without the warmth of another. She kept her shoulders back and her strides long however, refusing to show anything beyond professional determination.

“Hey…” A voice called behind her and grabbed at her elbow and the sense of dread she carried before came rushing back all at once. Her body acting of its own accord once more as she reached back and grabbed at the wrist of whoever was behind her, seized them by the throat with her other hand, and slammed them up against the side of the car. Only now realizing that it was only Qrow with his jacket, wincing and bared his teeth, the rough treatment no doubt agitating his previous wounds.

“Sorry…” Winter said and snapped herself away, walking around to the other side of the car and leaned inside to grab something.

“Don’t be, I know how things like this can be, you’re agitated your nerves are frayed and you’re strung tighter than a drum.” Qrow said and rubbed his palm across his neck where Winter’s fingers clenched. At the sound of rattling, Qrow turned just in time to catch a pill bottle. He looked at the label and saw it was just aspirin which he knew would be better for keeping his head clear but didn’t quite have the kick he’d like with his current wounds.

He popped the top of the pill bottle, poured out three tablets for now, tilted his head back and swallowed them dry. When he nodded his head back down, he saw Winter place a red bag with a white cross on the hood of the car. Med kit, she was already three steps ahead of him.

“Do you feel sick like you’re going to puke?” Winter said and held up her index finger and moved it side to side, watching Qrow’s eyes follow it without delay.

“I don’t have a concussion, believe me I’ve had enough.” Qrow said and batted Winter’s hand away. “You wanna tell me what that was about by the way?” Qrow asked and took a swatch of gauze from the med kit and used it to clean his face off. He wasn’t sure how much of the blood he washed off was his own.

“I needed something to latch onto, something to ground me, something to bring me back from whatever brink,” Winter paused, threw her hands up in the air as if trying to sweep away the clutter of words getting in the way of what she wanted to say. “Whatever edge I found myself teetering on.”

“You wanted to… what? Know you were still human?” Qrow asked.

“No,” Winter shook her head and saw Qrow with a black eye forming, but the blood washed from his face and saw for a single moment saw the look of fury on his face once more as he drove the hammer down onto another person’s head and wondered if that was the way he looked every other time he killed someone.

Was that fury rage? Was it hate? Who was it for?

Winter felt the warmth of another’s touch, but didn’t recoil like she had before. Qrow’s hand lay at her chin and she looked up to him to see that tired look to his eyes. No rage, no fury, no hate. Just exhaustion from age and attrition. Winter felt Qrow lean into her, felt his breath on her lips and rested her own hands against his chest as she leaned into him in return. Their lips met in the middle and Winter cocked her head off to the side, locking her lips with Qrow’s while he did the same.

She drew a sharp breath that caused her shoulders to hitch high at the feel of Qrow’s tongue teasing against her and his arms wrapping tight around her body. Her own hands still against his chest where she felt his heart racing, throbbing under his ribs. Winter grazed her hands down his chest till one hand rested at the waist of his pants and the other drifted lower, down his leg to feel his length. The first knuckle of her fingers poked underneath the waist of his pants and tugged at the button there till it popped. With deft hands, she slid the zipper down and ran her hand down his pants to feel his warm skin against hers.

Winter wasn’t sure if the gasp that came from Qrow was because of the sensation of her hand around his cock or he was protesting how cold her hands were. She thought of the latter, giggled and smiled up at him. Pulling away she opened the backseat door to the car and crawled inside only to feel Qrow crawl over top of her. His hips pressing into her ass making the presence of his member known while he kissed the back of her neck. One hand wrapped around her waist while another grabbed at her breast. Winter moaned with approval and arched her back into Qrow’s crotch, digging her ass into his cock.

Rolling over onto her back, Winter supported herself on her elbows and grabbed a handful of Qrow’s shirt, yanking him into another kiss. She pulled away from him and saw how he fumbled with his pants with one hand, his other occupied by supporting his weight. Winter doing the same to much more success after kicking off her boots and peeling off her jeans, leaving her in nothing but her shirt and panties.

“That’s good enough for me.” Winter whispered and took hold of Qrow’s cock. Her fingers grazing across his balls while the heel of her palm, thumb, and pinky wrapped around the shaft and stroked him to the tip. Drawing his hips forward.

“Whatever you say.” Qrow retorted and laid himself over top of her, nestling his face into her neck and nipping at the skin there while Winter wrapped her arms around the back of his head. Qrow’s free hand parting Winter’s lace underwear. He was thinking about making a slight against her about how he figured she’d be more utilitarian with her clothing choices, but decided against it.

The head of Qrow’s cock teased at Winter’s labia, going no further than a painful centimeter. Winter took hold of Qrow’s hair on the back of his head and forcibly yanked him back, glaring into his eyes as she bit her lower lip just before her eyes went wide. A gasp filled her abdomen as her back arched with her brow, feeling Qrow’s length ease into her till his hips bottomed out. Winter spread her legs wider and locked her ankles around Qrow’s back, her arms doing the same around his shoulders as she held tight to him.

Qrow nipped at her ear and whispered something to Winter, what it was Winter couldn’t hear nor did she care. Her mind to wrapped in euphoria as she felt her tight walls close in around Qrow’s dick. Her body quaking and shivering at the feel of him drawing out only to thrust himself back in, eliciting a gasping moan. His hips gradually moving to a steady beat complimented by Winter’s consistent labored breaths.

The cool night air nipped at Winter’s skin followed by the prickling scruff of Qrow’s face at her sternum as he lit a kiss against her body after peeling her shirt up. Winter raised her arms above her head and allowed Qrow to peel away what remained of her shirt. Winter’s top flying away with her bra after she seemingly swiped it away with one wave of her hand. Goose bumps dotting across her body as she drew her hands away from Qrow to cover her chest, her nipples pulling taut.

Longing for warmth, Winter reached up and pushed the shoulders of Qrow’s jacket off and threw it into the front seat with the rest of her clothes. At the confused look on Qrow’s face Winter snaked her fingers underneath Qrow’s shirt and threw it over his head before pulling her body in close to his. A smirk of understanding coming over the man’s face as the two pressed their bodies together.

All the while, Qrow kept up his metronome. That constant sway of his hips thrusting into Winter’s. His arms wrapping around her back to pull her in close while he kissed and nipped at her neck till their lips met again. The two locking together did little to stifle the constant moans that reverberated in Winter’s throat.

Winter pulled Qrow’s head away and laced her fingers into his hair and bit his lower lip before forcing his head into her chest. Qrow wasted no time as his tongue grazed across her sternum and circled around to the tip of her breast where a hot breath played at the skin there. His lips pressing in around her nipple and sucking it between his teeth where he bit down and tugged gently, drawing an excited and surprised gasp from Winter. One hand kept Qrow’s face pressed into her breasts while her other drew down across her own abdomen and spread her pussy lips out to either side, feeling Qrow’s cock slide between her fingers and thrust deep inside of her.

She felt her walls tighten and her body quiver, her middle finger pulling up to her clit and circling around the small button of skin. Her nerves frayed and sporadic, barley managing to circle her fingers around her clit till she willed her body to fall in time with Qrow’s own beat. Her fitful movements proving to be more beneficial as her fingers quickly danced along her own hips. She felt her body quiver again and Qrow’s cock twitch inside of her. Her head arching back while Qrow bit down harder onto her chest. Winter leaning in closer to his teeth, every sensation drawing her closer and closer to the edge till…

The hand that held onto the back of Qrow’s head slapped down onto the seat, Winter’s eyes going wide and her mouth hanging agape. Her back arched into the air as she drew a ragged breath deep into her diaphragm and let out a crying moan. Every muscle in her body going tense all at once as her walls closed in around Qrow’s member, an orgasm wracking every one of her senses to the point where she almost didn’t even feel how Qrow finished inside of her, his cock twitching and pulsing with every shot he laid into her.

Her climax faded far slower than it came, her muscles relaxing gradually as she exhaled a breath and laid her back against the seat where she lay. Beads of cold sweat dotted across her form while Qrow supported himself with both hands held above Winter’s head. His breathing only slightly labored as he looked down on his partner with a mix of emotions across his face. A myriad Winter found near impossible to parse if not for the prior events.

She pulled herself away from him and tapped at Qrow’s shoulder to gesture him to sit down. Winter reached over to the front seat, took Qrow’s coat and draped it over her shoulders as she took her seat at hips lap and rested her head against his shoulder. The feel of his arm wrapping around her back made her smile and her heart leap. She nuzzled in close to his neck and pecked a kiss there.

“Birth control is covered under our insurance.” Winter said, knowing Qrow would understand.

“Good…” was all Qrow could think to say in this moment before his mind slowly lapsed into sleep. The combination of a climax and the exhaustion taking hold of his mind just till a shot of adrenaline rang through his body at the sound of someone tapping at the window of the car. Both Qrow and Winter jumping in surprise at the sound.

Winter dismounted herself from Qrow’s lap while Qrow opened the door to see Glynda standing there. All at once he reminded himself where he was and what just happened. Police cruisers piled up around the warehouse with an ambulance taking Junior Xiong away, a swatch of gauze wrapped around his knee.

“Am I interrupting something?” Glynda asked and crossed her arms over her chest.

“No, not at all.” Qrow said and tucked himself back into his pants and buttoned himself up before stepping out of the car, closing the door behind him. He hadn’t bothered putting a shirt on and just stood there in the awkward silence that gripped the moment.

“Anyway…” Glynda said and raised her brow before looking away. “I suppose there is every reason to celebrate considering you’ve made some decent headway in the case. We’ll talk with Junior and give him the option of a plea bargain and see if that gets us anything more. I also did some looking on this Roman character you keep talking about but I couldn’t find anything on records.”

“Ask Junior about Roman, I saw him at the Grimm fights, Junior mentioned he had a buyer lined up for the Grimm too and I bet that’s exactly what Roman was there for.” Qrow said and tapped his knuckles on the window of the car and gestured his hand out. The window rolled down and Winter handed him his shirt before stepping out herself, tying her hair back into a ponytail while Qrow slipped his shirt on.

“I got the plate number on the cargo truck he was driving, if he’s smart he’ll drop it the first chance he gets but if we work fast we can follow that and see how far it takes us.” Winter said.

“About that…” Glynda said. “Its best if you two stay on the down low for a while, this was just about the biggest break the RPD has and I think we can handle taking the credit and the blame for this one. We’ll spin the story as an anonymous informant giving us the information and a nameless agent to thank for the heroics. But the public still knows who Qrow is and something like this going public will only be swept under the rug by Schnee. So fill out your own reports or do whatever else you have to because we can handle it here.”

“Do you honestly expect me to take a break now after we made more progress tonight than any of us have in the past three years?” Winter snapped.

“To be fair…” Qrow began. “I’m sick and tired of people trying to kill me or getting my ass kicked or both. I think now is a good a time as any to let you know that I’m going to take some vacation time.”

“I understand your frustration here Specialist,” Glynda said, referring to Winter. “But rest assured so long as I’m I charge Junior Xiong won’t even sneeze without me letting you know. But please, for your sake and the sake of the investigation I need you to just take a breather.”

Winter crossed her arms over her chest, let out a deep sigh and looked off to the side. She pursed her lips and thought it over, knowing Glynda was right but her own pride kept her from admitting it. At least verbally.

“DSE 205, that’s the license plate I saw on the truck.” Winter said and stepped around to the driver side of the car. Qrow slipping into the passenger side and waving off Glynda while she did the same.

“You much for MMA?” Qrow asked Winter.

“I hate sports.” Winter stated.

“Just when I thought I was beginning to like you…” Qrow said with a snide smirk that grew into a genuine smile at the way Winter smiled herself.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

From the East coast all the way to the West on a nearly twelve-hour flight, clear across the entire United States, Qrow finally landed at his destination in California. Between his on again and off again sleep the flight dragged on every time he woke up till they eventually touched down in the new city. Qrow was nearly three thousand miles away from Remnant and her cities and all the issues that came with them, but he still felt the residual pull of his problems back home. He knew in the back of his mind that his problems hadn’t left him and only let him go as far as his leash would allow, knowing that any time now Schnee and the investigation would yank him back home.

Despite that however, the imaginary leash felt less like a hang man’s noose now and if that’s as close as he could get to freedom, he’d take it over nothing at all. If nothing else Ruby was thankful to get out of the city and Qrow wasn’t about to ruin that for her. A new city to explore, an exciting night ahead of them later in the week, and old family to greet them when they arrived made for very excited Ruby.

When the two of them stepped out of the plane and into the airport, the head of long blonde hair was easy to find among the crowd. Just to help them that much more, Yang held up a sign that read “Ruby and Qrow”. When Ruby and Yang exchanged glances across the lobby of the crowded airport, Ruby dashed off through the crowd with an excited smile on her face as she seemed to just appear in Yang’s arms. The two sisters embracing each other in a tight hug while Yang hoisted Ruby off her feet and spun her around.

With the small path Ruby made in her mad dash, Qrow found it easy enough to join them while also apologizing for his niece along the way. When he stood before Yang, she stared at him while he did the same. The two holding each other in their gaze for a moment while the ghost of a smirk played on each of their faces. Qrow wasn’t sure what to say, what to do since the last time they saw each other in person was years ago. Just before Yang hopped on her bike and ran away from home. In the end they were still family no matter what, that was something Yang reminded Qrow of when she wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him into a tight hug.

“It’s good to see you again old man.” Yang said.

“Too damn long firecracker,” Qrow said and felt himself relax as a genuine smile curled across his face before noticing a young woman with long jet-black hair standing not far from Yang. Qrow cocked his brow at his niece as if to ask her if she knew this person and by the way Yang walked over to her side, smiled sheepishly and tangled her fingers with Blake’s, he already had every question answered and even a few more he didn’t think to ask.

“Qrow, Ruby, I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend Blake.” Yang said. “Soon to be fiancé once we can finally get out to Japan and we can finally get her parents blessing too.”

“Wow, parents are kinda old school huh?” Ruby asked.

Qrow looked on at the woman for a moment, thought to his eyes as he considered Blake’s name and her face. When he finally spoke, it was in fluent Japanese to Blake, asking her what her last name was. Both Yang and Ruby dumbstruck by the ease of how he spoke a totally different language.

“Belladonna, I speak English as well as you speak Japanese, so if it’s all the same to you…” Blake began.

“Right, sorry you just…” Qrow chuckled, smirked and stroked his chin before shaking his head. “Never mind.”

“Uncle Qrow I had no idea you spoke Japanese!” Ruby chirped with excitement.

“Yeah, no kidding, what else are you hiding from us?” Yang said.

“I spent a few years in the military when I was a kid so I figured it would pay off to learn a second language. I taught myself Farsi and I’m conversational in a few European languages but Summer was the one to teach me Japanese, she never really got the chance to teach either of you, she wanted Ruby to at least know where she came from…”

“So, wait I’m Japanese?” Ruby asked, cocking her head off to the side with child like curiosity and willing away the darkness of the memories talking about Summer brought up.

“Well dad was Chinese and your mom was Japanese so you’re a bit of a mix of both but I’m half Chinese and didn’t you say you were…?” Yang paused and gestured to Qrow.

“Raven and I are Irish, last name Branwen after the welsh goddess by the same name.” Qrow said and peered over towards Blake at noticing her flinch.

“Quite the cultural diversity your family has.” Blake said, locking her eyes with Qrow.

“What do you say we get our bags and meet you out front?” Qrow asked Yang, but kept her eyes on Blake.

“I’ll help you out, we can give those two sometime to catch up.” Blake said and walked past Qrow and off towards the baggage claim area.

“Weird… I’ve never seen her like that, are you sure you said the right thing?” Yang asked and furrowed her brow at Qrow.

“She’s right, I’ll get the bags with Blake you two go on ahead and grab the car,” Qrow said with a dismissive wave and walked up along side Blake. He looked over his shoulder to ensure Ruby and Yang were well out of ear shot. The two of them paying no real mind to Qrow’s prior comment.

“Qrow tells me you’re going in for engineering, does that mean you’re gonna be able to build me a cool robot arm?” Yang asked.

“That’s actually more plausible than you think…” Ruby said and began to prattle off all the information she had on hand.

“She never told me she was related to the Branwen mafia.” Blake said with a dry tone.

“Unless you have Yakuza Heiress on your dating profile I don’t think you have a lot of room to speak.” Qrow retorted.

“That’s fair,” Blake said and turned to face Qrow and paused for a moment. She turned away as if to hide the blush forming on her cheeks it was with that gesture Qrow knew he could drop his guard. “But she doesn’t know who my family really is and I…” another pause, another all too human gesture with the way Blake brought her hand up to stroke her own shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it, she’s not Branwen, she’s a Xiao Long so she doesn’t want anything to do with that kind of life.” Qrow said and searched the belt for his and Ruby’s bags.

“That’s honestly what I’m afraid of though, you might know I’m Yakuza and maybe you can look past that but-”

“But nothing.” Qrow said and took a bag from the belt and shoved it into Blake’s chest to catch her attention, another bag slung over Qrow’s shoulder. “She’s antsy, she’s feisty and when she goes off she goes off with a bang cause she’s a stick of dynamite and just as dangerous. When she was still living with me she damn near broke my arm after she and I got into an argument but this is the happiest I’ve seen her in a long time. You mean just as much to her as she means to you so she’s not going anywhere no matter what.”

Blake smiled and turned her face away from Qrow. She clutched the bag tight to her chest and looked over to the door, following beside Qrow as they made their way to the entrance. Just walking in silence for a moment till they reached the entrance and stood there waiting for Yang to pull around with the car.

“You know I’m curious.” Qrow began as the two of them waited. “Why tell this to a guy like me? I’m practically a stranger to you and you don’t look the type to open up to anyone.”

“I guess… because I don’t think you’re that much of a stranger, at least not to me.” Blake began. “Yang told me a lot about you, how you raised her and Ruby to the best of your ability after their dad passed away, how you put your nose to the grind stone and how you taught her to be stubborn. But I guess it’s also because were not that different, born to a name we can’t escape no matter how fast we run.”

“Stop running,” Qrow said and looked over to Blake. “Plant your feet and prove you’re not your last name. You’re Blake…”

“Funny… you sound just like Yang there.” Blake said with a chuckle and a half smile.

“Get in losers were going to Belladonna's!” Yang said after pulling up with the car.

Qrow looked over to Blake and cocked a brow at her as if to look for an explanation.

“I own a dive bar and I’d appreciate it if my girlfriend would call it Nightshade instead of my last name.” Blake said loud enough for Yang to hear only to have her beam a smile at Blake.

“You own a bar?” Qrow asked and at a nod of affirmation, Qrow wrapped an arm around Blake and brought her in close, pointing towards her with a brimming smile. “New favorite in law right here!”

The night unfolded with drinking and games and a load of bad karaoke. Qrow, drunk off whiskey on the rocks sang _Whiskey Hangover_ by _Godsmack_. When Yang stepped up to the stage, she blew everyone away with her rendition of _Do You Really Want It_ by _Nothing More_. Blake took a bit of coaxing to get up on the stage from her more inebriated compatriots, but acquiesced as she knew they wouldn’t quit till she did her own rendition of _Castle_ by _Halsey_. Ruby, not one for big crowds, eventually stepped up onto the stage of her own accord after Blake and felt inspired by the drunken cheers of those around her only to belt out _Given Up_ by _Linkin Park_ , blowing everyone away when she held the bridge towards the end of the song just as long if not longer than the song demanded of her.

As the night went on and stretched into the earlier parts of the morning, everyone slowly but surely dropped off like flies as they gave into their drunken stupor and exhaustion. Qrow still hanging on by a thread managed to waddle up to the apartment above the bar with Ruby’s help only to plop down onto the carpet and fall asleep there, leaving the couch for Ruby to sleep in.

Blake and Yang however, managed to edge their way through the night and sat on the roof of their small apartment building. The two of them sitting side by side as they felt the cool morning air wash over them and saw the sun peek just over the horizon of the city scape. Beams of light etching their way through the buildings as the two sat in silence for a moment.

Blake turned to look at Yang who in turn looked back at her. Blake searched her face and opened her mouth to try and speak, try and find the words to say as she thought about what she and Qrow talked about before. Instead, she just leaned in and pecked a kiss to Yang’s lips and invited her back inside so the two could get some rest.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

After a few hours of rest and a hearty breakfast with family, Yang was back to the grind of her training. With the days flying by and the big fight happening tonight, keeping herself sharp was important now more than ever. Despite his previous nights of drinking, Qrow managed to bounce back nearly unaffected if not being just a little groggy. When pressed about his secret on how to bounce back like he was twenty again, Qrow responded by popping the lid from a jar of pickles and knocking back a mouthful of the green brine. He winced and pursed his lips at the taste and chased it back with some coffee stating that it was “just a trick of the trade.”

“If you ever drink pickle juice I’m never kissing you again.” Blake said to Yang before pecking her lips to Yang’s.

“Yeah I think I’ll stick with Gatorade thanks,” Yang retorted and winked at Qrow. “I’m headed out to the gym for some training, you guys wanna see where the magic happens?”

“Yeah!” Ruby cheered, throwing her hands up in the air.

Qrow looked over to her, shrugged and smirked.

“Yeah why not, maybe I can teach you a few things from my dog days as a Ranger.” Qrow said.

“I’m going to stick around here, I have to open for the noon crowd, I already got the pay per view for the fight tonight so I’ll have to cheer you on from here.” Blake said and stepped behind the bar to get things ready.

“One of these days you’re going to take a day off and actually come see me fight.” Yang demanded and kissed Blake before stepping out the door with Qrow and Ruby in tow. “So, Ranger Qrow you gonna teach me about the dangers of forest fires?” Yang teased with a mocking tone.

“Wrong kinda ranger smart ass.” Qrow said and playfully shoved Yang.

The drive off to the gym wasn’t long, a big city like Los Angeles kept everything within a few miles of one another. The gym itself wasn’t what either Qrow or Ruby expected either. Both assuming it was just some community gym that was the product of a chain corporation. Rather it was a massive building sectioned off from the public by a security fence. Admittance only allowed via scanning a badge and checking in with security. The gym itself was the official UFC training camp only accessible by their allowed members and guests.

“Pretty tight security…” Qrow remarked and nodded to a rent-a-cop standing just outside the gate.

“Yeah it keeps the paparazzi and the fans away.” Yang said as she stepped out of the car and walked into the gym.

“You think that wouldn’t be a problem considering this place is filled with people who fight other people for a living.” Ruby said.

“Good point…” Qrow remarked with a scoff.

“Yeah I guess the security is more so for their protection and not ours.” Yang said and stepped into the gym only to have Neptune rush over towards her.

“You’re finally here, you've got an interview with ESPN, they want to drum up some hype for the fight on Friday and who are these people?” Neptune asked and pointed off towards Ruby and Qrow.

“This is my family, Neptune this is Qrow and Ruby, guys this is my neurotic manager.” Yang said.

“Neurotic?” Neptune said with genuine offense taken. “I’d like to see you organize the biggest fight in the history of the world. This is like Achilles verses… some other really good fighter I don’t know, are they staying long?”

“You know if you’re busy we can head out for a while, give you some time to sort things out, I’m sure we’ll see you later…” Qrow said and gestured towards the door.

“No, its fine I want you two to stay, Neptune can just calm down for once, besides you two will be at the fight tonight so I won’t be able to see you too much after we get out of here.” Yang said as she caught sight of a head of red hair and waved over to Pyrrha with a smile.

“Oh yeah they also want a photo op with you two, actually maybe it’s a good thing you’re all here, we can get a family photo, it will make you look good,” Neptune rambled off and nodded his head, slipping his phone into his pocket and sighing as he allowed himself to catch up with his own thoughts. “You ready for the interview?”

“Yeah let’s get this done, I need some warm up matches before tonight,” Yang said to Neptune and turned to Ruby and Qrow. “Make yourself at home guys, I’ll be back soon.” Yang said and walked out off to a sectioned off part of the gym where a set of cameras and lights along with a backdrop were set up and ready for the interview.

The constant poking and prodding that came with being in the limelight was something Yang became accustomed to or tolerated at the very least. When a woman came over with a brush in one hand and foundation in the other she lifted her head up and let the makeup artist smear the foundation across her face to give her skin a more natural dark hue. It was one of the few and only times she wore makeup as her work obviously didn’t require it too much. When she stepped up beside the interviewer, she shook herself out and rolled her neck and shoulders, listening to the camera man count down from five. At the wave of his hand, Yang rolled her shoulders back and smiled at the interviewer as she gave her introduction.

“Lisa Lavender here with none other than the champ herself, Yang “Long Haul” Xiao Long, how does it feel to have an opportunity like this to face off against what many claims to be the invincible woman?” Lisa asked and pointed the mic towards Yang.

“She’s not like the other opponents I’ve faced off against, she doesn’t do the smack talking routine to try and psyche me out or intimidate me. Every single fight I’ve seen her in she just gives her opponent that million-dollar smile and comes out the other end smiling like she was. I gotta say, that is a lot more intimidating than anything I’ve had to face off against in the past.” Yang said.

“Now you just mentioned how your other opponents posture themselves to make themselves seem more threatening but repeatedly you’ve come out as the champion. Not just the champion either, but the first woman to ever compete and win in the men’s league, you seem unshakable but would you say you’re intimidated by Pyrrha Nikos?”

“You know I gotta say I’m more of a bruise over blush kinda girl and that’s what kept me going this far but intimidated? Not by a long shot, excited? You better believe it! Its not every day a gold medalist calls you out in public for a one on one. Win or lose its gonna make for one hell of a story.”

“Speaking of stories, I feel like there is one behind the hair, from one girl to the next I work as a news caster and I can barely keep my bob cut maintained and yet you have this beautiful mane of hair that some girls would honestly fight you for despite your career choice.”

Yang paused and opened her mouth but shut it instead. Looking down she thought of the words to say, and nodded her head. When she felt she had her mind together enough to divulge this kind of information, she raised her head and spoke again.

“Yeah there is actually…” Yang began and summoned a breath into her lungs before continuing. “My mom, my step mom Summer actually… she died of cancer so many years ago, but we were so sure she was going to make it, we kept telling ourselves that she was going to get through this because she kept saying she was. But her condition only got worse and her hair started to fall out and I knew how much that must have upset her. My family at the time… we didn’t exactly have a lot of money to spare since the medical bills ate most of it up so I wanted to cheer her up so I decided to start growing out my hair so I could donate it and have it made into a wig for her for when I thought she was going to get better. In the end the cancer took her before I could donate my hair and from that point on I decided to keep growing my hair out as a means of memorial to the woman who raised me like I was her real daughter…”

Lisa was silent for a moment, she stood there with the mic held under her chin with a blank look to her face and emotion creeping into her eyes. Yang bit back the tears welling in her eyes and blinked them away. Lisa came back to after the camera man nudged her. Lisa shook out her head, swallowed back a lump in her throat and continued the interview.

“What a brave story… why don’t we end this on a high note and let me ask you if you have anything you’d like to say to the audience at home.” Lisa asked, her voice humbled and hushed.

“Just one and this one goes out to everyone, not just the girls out there. When someone tells you that you can’t do something, look them dead in the eye and tell them ‘Watch me’” Yang said.

“Alright that does it for us here, sending it back to the station, stay tuned for more updates on these great fighters.” Lisa said and smiled off at the camera before the camera man gave the all clear and she dropped the façade. “Ms. Xiao Long…”

“You can call me Yang.”

“Yang…” Lisa said with a small chuckle and brushed a lock of hair over her ear. “My daughter is such a huge fan of yours, she insists on keeping her hair long like yours but I had no idea that was why, I’m sorry if I struck a nerve there.”

“If I didn’t want to answer your question I wouldn’t have, so don’t worry about it, oh yeah and wait here a sec…” Yang said and pulled out her phone and sent a message, a few moments later, Sun came out with a pair of her gloves in hand and a curious look on his face.

“You wanted me to bring you your gloves?” Sun asked and handed them off to Yang.

“Yeah, thanks.” Yang said and pulled out a marker from her pocket and sighed her first name across the knuckles of one glove and her last name across the other before handing them off to Lisa. “Tell your daughter it’s going to be a few years before she can fit into those, but tell her it’s a reminder from me to keep fighting.”

Lisa looked down at the gloves, dumbstruck and palmed across the worn faux leather and then looked back up to Yang. Lisa leaped forward and wrapped her arms around Yang to give her a hug before pulling herself away and letting out a hysterical laugh as it was the only noise that would come out of her mouth.

“Thank you so much Ms… er Yang, thank you!” Lisa said.

“You know those are gonna be worth a fortune if you win tonight.” Sun said.

“When…” Yang corrected.

_~Later~_

Even from the locker room, Yang could hear the crowd rambling and cheering, waiting for the biggest fight in history of UFC, in the history of Yang’s own career. The time had finally come. Each day inched by slowly but now that she sat here on her own, left to her own thoughts, it all felt like it passed within the blink of an eye.

All the photo ops, all the interviews, years of training all leading up to what Yang knew to be the highlight of her career. She spent days training with Sun and a few with Qrow, learning a new set of skills she never even thought to implement into her own fighting style. Pain training to keep herself focused, a mentality of a honed predator. She could hear Qrow’s voice saying those words repeatedly. “When you’re fighting for your life, when you’re in a real fight it’s not just about getting in a few quick jabs, its kill them before they kill you.”

Kill them before they kill you. Yang repeated this to herself, knowing not to take the mantra literally, but knew how to translate it to a fight like this. Don’t try and wear down the opponent, go for the quick tap out, don’t fool around, keep yourself focused.

The hours Yang spent watching Pyrrha fight from all available footage made her realize how important this advice was because it was advice Pyrrha followed herself. Her fights were momentary glimpses and displays of controlled fury, more like art than actual fighting. A ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ sort of ordeal.

One last reminder she gave herself was to focus. Tunnel vision was a killer and apt to trip her up if she let it. Stay focused, keep moving, don’t plant your feet and don’t let your fury consume you. The moment you got angry was the moment you already lost the match as instinct overruled training. Start at one thousand, subtract seven each time, keep yourself focused on something else, anything to keep your mind where its at. Another bit of advice from her uncle.

Yang drew a breath into her lungs and sighed heavily. She brought up her bottle of water to her lips and took a swig to chase away the dry feeling that plagued her mouth. Why was she so nervous? This was no different than any other fight she’d been in, the opponent might be different, but the crowd, the fans, the fight, it was all going to be the same. Regardless though, something shook her down to her core that she needed some time alone, some pre-battle meditation to clear her mind and steady her nerves.

She held up her hand and expected it to shake, felt like it was supposed to, but only saw it lay flat and steady before her. She clenched her fist and looked towards the door at the sound of someone knocking expecting someone from the area to poke their head through and let her know she was ready. To her surprise, it wasn’t someone from the arena but rather a familiar face, but all together unexpected.

Roman stepped into the locker room and pressed his back against the door, thumbing over the lock and clicking it secure. He wore a half smirk on his face while the brim of his hat forced his line of sight down the edge of his nose when he regarded Yang.

Yang nodded a greeting and drew another swig of water before standing up to greet him with an open hand.

“You’re Pyrrha’s manager, I don’t think we ever got the chance to really introduce ourselves.” Yang began.

Roman looked down at Yang’s hand, scoffed and looked back up at her, pointing his cane and jabbing it into her chest.

“Listen girly, I’m going to make you a very simple offer,” Roman said and watched as Yang slapped the cane away from herself and closed the distance between the two of them. Roman watched as her brow hardened with her gaze.

“Don’t call me Girly and whatever the hell it is you can take your offer and blow it out your ass.” Yang said and tried to step past Roman only to have to her exit blocked by Roman’s cane.

“Trust me, you’re going to want to hear me out on this one…” Roman began again. “You’re going to throw the fight tonight and let Pyrrha win.”

“Excuse me?!” Yang growled and clenched her fists.

“I know damn well you heard me, you’re going to throw the match or I’m going to drag your reputation through the mud.” Roman said. “How do you think your fans and your manager will react when they realize that you have pure Dust in your system?”

“I don’t do drugs and you don’t have any proof that I did.” Yang snapped.

“Don’t I though…?” Roman said and nodded over to the bottle of water. “The silver haired water boy, Mercury was his name for the record, he works for me and he laced your water with enough Dust to show up on drug test. The same drug test you’ll have to take if you win this match.”

“You son of a-” Yang began and grabbed Roman by the collar of his Jacket, slamming him up against the wall only to see his smirk widen. Knowing that this wasn’t unwanted, she pulled herself away and crossed her arms over her chest.

“A little bit of brain behind that brawn, you try something like that again and I will just call the fight all together, but that would be a huge waste of money now wouldn’t it?” Roman asked and cocked a brow at Yang.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Qrow and Ruby sat in their VIP booth; paid for when Yang and Pyrrha gave them their tickets. The seating was unlike anything else in the house with a table set up with food and drink for them with chairs so close to the ring that they could reach out and touch the cage. The seating so close in fact that they sat directly opposite to the commentators table. To ensure that they were given a fair bit of space as well, a barrier was set up around their table allowing for a modest amount of room while a security officer with the arena stood guard.

Ruby bounced in her seat, with an excited squeal while Qrow sat in his chair with a tumbler of whiskey in hand. He reached over a hand and ruffled Ruby’s hair, happy to be here, happier to see her so elated.

“Uhhh… excuse me is this the VIP seating?” The voice of a young man asked and Ruby turned expecting another person to claim they knew her or her uncle to try and get into the booth. To her surprise, Jaune stood just beyond the barrier and waved over to Ruby after handing over his ticket. Ruby waving back and hopping over to greet him.

“Jaune what are you doing here?” Ruby asked.

“Pyrrha gave me a ticket actually, said she’d love it if I came to cheer her on since you would probably be cheering on your sister.” Jaune said and walked with Ruby over to the table and greeted Qrow who toasted his glass to Jaune. “I was gonna try and invite Wiess but she said she had to take care of her dog for the week… I didn’t even know she had a dog.”

“She doesn’t, she’s taking care of my puppy Zwei while I’m here.” Ruby said.

“Oh yeah I guess that makes sense, never pegged her for a dog person though.” Jaune said and turned to Qrow at the sound of his scoff. “What?”

“Speaking of dogs, I think you’re barking up the wrong tree kid,” Qrow said and knocked back the last of his whiskey and chewed the ice. He looked at the time on his phone, twenty minutes before the match would start. He unlocked his phone and sent a text message to Yang’s phone.  
“What does he mean by that?” Jaune asked Ruby who only giggled in response.

_~Meanwhile~_

Yang knelt before the toilet in the women’s locker room and clutched the sides of the bowl. She felt her abdomen tighten and her stomach void itself of its contents with a sickening gag and hurl. Everything she’d eaten or drank over the past hour came up all at once and flushed away with the swipe of the lever. She got back to her feet, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and felt her phone vibrate. She checked the message to see it was from Qrow, the message reading ‘In it for the long haul.’

When she stepped out of the stall, she handed her phone off to Sun standing there and went over to the sink to wash her mouth out and clean her face up.

“I’ve never seen you this nervous before, let alone smiling after you just puked your guts out.” Sun said and slipped Yang’s phone into his pocket.

Yang spit the water out after washing her mouth and ran her hand through her hair to get rid of the stray locks in her face.

“I just needed to get that out of my system is all, we about ready to go?” Yang asked.

“Your song is ready and the crowd is getting antsy, but are you sure you still wanna go through with this?” Sun asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure…” Yang said and walked out of the locker room only to see a barrage of paparazzi taking pictures and prodding for questions. She kept a stoic mask over her face while the security ushered her along and Neptune trailed just behind her to quell the mass of questions directed at her.

As she made her way down the hall, Neptune ushered the paparazzi off behind a gate and sent them away. Yang meanwhile stood in the hallway just before the walk way leading to the octagon in the center. She hopped from foot to foot, feeling the bare concrete under the soles of her feet and waited for her song to come on. She knew they’d start it at about the first chorus line, but still sang the words to the beginning none the less.

“I’ve been on a long road, with the devil right beside me… rising with the morning sun, is a hunger that drives me…” Yang hummed out under her breath and looked up at the preamble to the chorus line and stepped out into the walk way with the spot light showing on her just as the chorus bellowed through the crowd. “Champion, I can take a beating now, rise again, burning through the jungle until the end, I can take a beating now I’ll rise again keep rising up now!”

Just along the crowd she saw a familiar face tip their bowler hat in Yang’s direction and only narrowed her eyes at Roman with a scowl, looking like she was trying to burn a whole clean through his hat with her gaze alone. She turned her eyes forward again stepped into the cage and waited for her opponent to make her entrance.

In the meantime, Yang noticed Ruby and Qrow sitting not far from her and winked at them before kissing her fingers and holding it out to them. Ruby returning the gesture with a wide smile before the two looked off to the other end of the arena at the sound of another song starting up. The announcers bellowing out her opponent’s name. The untouchable woman herself, Pyrrha Nikos.

If there was one thing Pyrrha already managed to beat her on, it was an entrance. The spot lights shown down on a figure clad in red and gold as the orchestral beginnings to _Skillet’s_ _Reborn_ screeched over the speakers while she proudly strode along the walk way with her long legs till she stood before the cage and stepped inside. At this display, Yang nodded her head with half mocking applause before the two women passed it off with a laugh.

The referee gave them the basic rules, just like any other fight with one stipulation, the match would only be one round and it would go on as long as it had to. The fight would only end after a knock out or a tap out from either opponent and there would be no time outs during this fight. In favor of a knuckle bump as was traditional before a fight, Yang offered out her hand to Pyrrha who took it and drew herself in close to Yang. The two women brought each other in and clapped a hand at each other’s backs before going to either side of the ring and waiting for the match to begin.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. The world faded, the crowd’s cheers died to a hush in Yang’s ears and the only thing she heard thereafter was the sound of the first match bell ringing causing instinct to take hold.

Yang charged forward, keeping herself fast and low with her arms kept close to her chest. As she stepped closer, her toes digging into the mat beneath her, Yang’s arms stretched out to snatch Pyrrha’s legs from under her. Before she could manage this however, Yang felt Pyrrha’s hand at the back of her neck and saw her feet lift off from the ground, her shoulder rolling across Yang’s back till she stuck the landing opposite her opponent.

Yang threw her weight back to keep herself from charging headlong into the cage and whipped her body around to see Pyrrha standing before her with a half smirk on her face. Her movements didn’t betray any sign of retaliation, but Yang kept her stance as closed as possible just in case.

“A mad dash for the legs to try and sweep Nikos off her feet only to have Nikos brush off Xiao Long like a bull fighter!” Peter, the announcer commented. “The untouchable woman keeps up her reputation.”

“You know you’d probably get a better grip on a greased-up pig than you would on Nikos. Xiao Long is gonna have one hell of a time with this fight if she can’t even manage to land a solid hit.” Bartholomew, Peter’s co-host, said.

If going for the bottom didn’t work, Yang thought to herself and narrowed her eyes in consideration at Pyrrha. Yang stomped forward and leaped into the air high enough that her hips lay level with Pyrrha’s head. Yang’s thighs closed in around on either side of Pyrrha’s head while Yang forced her weight backwards, trying to up end her opponent. Only this time Pyrrha managed to force Yang’s thighs from around her head, successfully flipping her away and causing her to land on her knees in a near perfect backflip.

The moment she landed was the moment Pyrrha saw fit to strike. Since Yang was kneeling, Pyrrha couldn’t legally knee or kick her while she was down and that forced her onto a throwing a punch. The very same Yang anticipated and dodged away from causing Pyrrha to overextend and gave Yang just enough time to retaliate. Yang locked her fingers around Pyrrha’s wrist and used this to hoist herself back to her feet and draw Pyrrha into her blow.

Pyrrha already anticipated this however and Yang only got as far as one foot on the mat before Pyrrha twirled her wrist to break Yang’s grip, grabbed onto Yang’s forearm instead. The blow Yang attempted to pull Pyrrha into only landed in Pyrrha’s palm allowing her to grab onto Yang’s other wrist. With a yank forward, Pyrrha leaped and struck her knee into Yang’s face sending her flying back and landing with a hard thud. The crowd groaned in empathetic pain at the first strike of the night.

“How do you think the fans will react to this one, because right now it looks like an absolute wash.” Peter said and leaned back in his chair.

“I might have to agree with you Peter, with all due respect to Xiao Long, Nikos might just have her beat and it looks like the fans already predicted that this would be the end result for the fight tonight.” Bartholomew said.

The moment Yang landed with her back to the mat, she threw her legs back behind her, pushed off the mat and flew back up to her feet. She wished she could say she had taken harder blows than that, but she wasn’t so sure anymore.

Her vision blurred, her mouth guard had a small crack in the plastic, she could taste blood pooling in her mouth and just watched Pyrrha’s image fade in and out of her line of sight. She narrowed her eyes to try and focus herself. If Pyrrha really was untouchable, just how was Yang supposed to win a fight like this?

Out of the roar of the crowd, as though he were right beside her, standing at her back, Yang could hear Qrow’s voice.

“Lead the shot.” He said, the sound of his voice causing Yang to jump before he saw Qrow sitting just beyond the cage. With a drink in his hand and a firm line pressing across his face with his line of sight locked with hers, she could see him gazing into her as if to remind her of the talk they had just earlier that day. “Lead the shot.” Qrow mouthed out, but Yang could still hear it clear as day in her mind.

_~Hours Earlier~_

“Let’s take five real quick.” Qrow said and held out an open hand to Ruby who tossed him a towel. He draped the rag over his shoulders and dabbed his forehead before spitting his mouth guard out on the floor of the training ring.

“What’s wrong old man; can’t keep up?” Yang asked and sprayed a stream of water into her mouth before coming over to Qrow’s side of the ring.

“Actually, no I can’t, but that’s not why I wanted to stop.” Qrow began. “I noticed something in your last fight and it’s not something you’re doing now.”

Yang cocked a brow at him and crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a gesture to continue.

“You’re smart, you know that?” Qrow asked and saw Yang roll her eyes. “Hear me out, your last fight with Cardin you got your ass handed to you or damn near. But before you threw in the towel you managed to turn the tides of the fight in your favor. The only way I can see someone doing something like that is if they know what they’re doing well enough to learn on the fly.”

“He’s right you know.” Sun said and hopped up to the ring, leaning on the ropes and nodding to Qrow. “We thought you could just tank the hits, let him wear himself out and then go in for the kill, but you did I differently after you took that first blow.”

“Yeah because Cardin hits like a freight train, there was no way I could stand up to that.” Yang said.

“So this guy has you out classed in terms of striking power, but you still managed to beat him… how?” Qrow asked and saw that Sun was just as eager for an answer.

Yang opened her mouth to speak but the worlds didn’t come out. She thought it over for a moment and looked off to the side, remembering what she could from the blur that was her fight so many weeks ago.

“He had a tell, he telegraphed his moves his elbows flared out just slightly before every hit and-” Yang began.

“And you exploited that tell, you learned from his style and compensated for it.” Qrow said and leaned against the ropes and stared off at the wall as he began to piece together a memory. “My dad and I, when I was a kid he and I would always play chess together and I never once beat him, never could figure out how either. When I asked him how he was so good at it I thought he was just going to say practice, but what he actually said was that he was thinking two turns ahead of me.”

Sun raised his hand and Qrow nodded to him as if to call on him like a patiently waiting student.

“What does chess have to do with fighting?” Sun asked.

“Yeah I’m kinda confused too…” Yang asked.

“Yeah me too…” Ruby said, hopping up to the ring with Sun to better pay attention to the story.

“It’s got everything to do with the story if you just listen.” Qrow said and turned around to face the four of them. “One thing I learned is that you can take any bit of information and with a bit of creativity you can apply it to any sort of skill or craft. So thinking two turns ahead right? Well back during my days in the military I had a guy in my cross hairs with my rifle, he must have been about two football fields away and he was running perpendicular from where I was.” Qrow said and held out his hand like it was a gun, closed one eye and looked down the mock sights. He pulled his hand back to simulate recoil and continued with his story. “I wasn’t a sniper, I was never trained to be one so every time I shot at him it was where he was not where he was going just till I heard my dad speak up and he said.”

“Think two turns ahead…” Yang said in understanding and smiled up at Qrow.

“Exactly, so that’s what I did, I anticipated where he was going, lined my cross hairs up with where he was and took the shot.” Qrow repeated the finger gun gesture like he had before. “Managed to wing him clean through the spacing of his ribs. You’re smart Yang, what you just showed me in that last fight was a lot of brute strength but that’s not going to get you every far. Use what’s left of your brain before it beaten out of you and…”

_~Present Day~_

“Lead the shot…” Yang said to herself.

She looked over to Pyrrha, smirking at her before stomping forward and throwing out a fist for a quick jab. To no surprise, Pyrrha managed to slap it away, Yang’s fist not even so much as glancing her. Another quick jab and another miss. A third attempted blow and Pyrrha dodged out of the way, leaning away from her fist with a furrowed brow, looking almost confused for a moment just till she noticed Yang’s face suddenly contort into a mask of savagery.

Pyrrha’s eyes widened just as she caught to motion from her periphery and realized it was too late to react now. Pyrrha flung her weight too hard off to the side only to feel a fist collide with the side of her head and send her reeling back.

The crowd around them, hundreds if not thousands of people all went silent, all of them sharing the same expression. Slack jawed awe at what they had just seen. The untouchable woman steadied her footing after catching herself and raised her head. A strand of red staining the side of her face. Pyrrha brought her hand to the wet spot against her skull, pulled her fingers back and realized with the rest of the crowd, that it was blood.

“Did… did that just happen?” Peter stammered, standing in his seat with his co host at his side doing the same. “Did we just…”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I believe this is a fight for the history books, Yang Xiao Long has just landed the first successful blow on Pyrrha, formerly “the untouchable woman” Nikos.” Bartholomew said.

At the way his cohost snapped back into the fight, so to did Peter as he snatched up his mic and said: “Many, including myself, will call that a lucky shot, but the fight isn’t over yet. Nikos may have lost her nickname but she’s far from losing the fight.” Peter said.

The look in Pyrrha’s eyes was a mixture of hurt and surprise before a spark lit inside of her. Yang backed away from Pyrrha with a ‘come at me’ gesture and a smirk on her face. Pyrrha met the challenge head on by stepping forward and throwing out a quick jab that grazed past Yang’s cheek. Had she not been faster, the shot would have connected square against her nose. This fight was very different from her match with Cardin. Pyrrha knew how to keep her moves solid, keep herself from telegraphing, but Yang also knew how to take a hit.

Pyrrha rounded her leg up against Yang’s side and she caught the blow against her forearm, the force of the kick enough to create a loud echoing clap of skin on skin. But it also left an opening for Yang. With Pyrrha’s arms stretched away from her for balance she left herself wide open. Yang threw a punch right into Pyrrha’s core and watched as she gracefully twirled away from the hit to regain her footing, landing with a three-point stance. Her leg spread out and flat footed, her hand steadying her body and her arm held in the air. From this stance she looked like a wild predator ready to pounce.

An opportunity Yang wasn’t about to give her. Yang rushed forward and threw out her left hand in a punch, watched as Pyrrha moved to redirect the blow, only for Yang to pull back at the last-minute fake out. Catching Pyrrha by surprise and landing a subsequent blow right to the side of her head after baiting her defenses.

“You’re smart…” The Qrow from Yang’s memory said. “You learned from his style and compensated for it.”

Yang wouldn’t give Pyrrha that opportunity. Another fake out, another successful blow, another glancing shot only to have Pyrrha lean right into another blow. At this point Pyrrha lost her rhythm, she didn’t know where to dodge, when to defend or block, how to redirect any blows or which ones she should. Because of this she knew that her only hope was to match the offensive and began to match Yang blow for blow only to find that she was more than capable of taking each hit one right after the next.

Every shot Pyrrha landed against Yang’s head and body, she only recoiled slightly before coming right back into the fray and unleashing her own revenge against her. The exchange of blows resulted in a bloodied octagon, many of the sponsors on the mat blurring out in a slurry of red and the fight carried on into the half hour mark without break and without any delay. At about the forty-fight minute mark, both women stood before each other with bewildered stances that were just slightly off. Their shoulders bobbed with every labored breath, sweat beaded across their body with cuts clotting with dried blood.

The two fighters shared a look of understanding with one another. They both knew they only had one last shot in them before they’d give and decided to give that shot their all. Yang stomped forward and bared her teeth, her yellow mouthguard long since snapped but still held in place by her grinding teeth. Pyrrha matched her fury and summoned up what remained of her strength to leap into the air for one last kick. Both women letting out battle cries that attempted to overtake one another.

Yang threw her uppercut towards Pyrrha’s chin and Pyrrha lowered her kick down onto Yang’s head. With a crack like thunder that many thought was the sound of bone cracking, each blow landed and sent each fighter careening to either side of the octagon. Both floored and laying still.

“In a stunning end to an even more stunning fight, I believe we have a conclu-” Peter began but stopped at the sight of a body moving in the ring.

Yang reached out to the cage with one hand while her other pushed her torso off the ground. Her legs pulling themselves up to keep herself steady. Slowly and still shaken, Yang hoisted herself to her feet and ran a hand through her hair to remove the stray locks from her face. She looked around to the crowd in confusion for a moment just till she turned around to see Pyrrha laying still and realized with the ringing of the bell to signal the end of the match, she won.

“LADIES AND GENTLMEN, YANG XIAO LONG, THE UNDEFEATED CHAMPION HAS JUST WON THE FIGHT OF THE CENTURY WITH A TOTAL KNOCK OUT!” Peter bellowed, trying to speak above the roaring crowd.

With the fight finished, the cages opened and a team of doctors rushed over to both Yang and Pyrrha. The doctors gave Yang a once over to ensure that that she was cognizant enough to walk out of the ring of her own accord and decided she was fine. They gave her a towel to wash her face off before allowing Ruby and Qrow into the ring.

Ruby jumped into Yang’s arms to congratulate her and Yang held tight to her sister before hoisting her up for Ruby to sit on her shoulder. A reporter with the UFC came into the ring with a camera in hand and Yang instinctively struck a pose only this time reaching out for her uncle to pull him into the picture as well. The family all together in one picture.

Meanwhile Pyrrha dismissed the medical team at the sight of Jaune rushing into the ring to see her. He knelt by her side and helped Pyrrha get to her feet. Pyrrha held onto Jaune to keep herself steady, or at least that was the excuse she gave herself as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“You put up a great fight, you’ll always be my champion.” Jaune said and smiled at the way Pyrrha smiled back at him before blushing and tensing at the feel of her hand at his cheek. When their lips met, Jaune froze as his heart hammered in his chest and the flash of lights around them with hooting and hollering only making it worse.

“Then I guess that makes you my prize.” Pyrrha said after she pulled away.

“I’m not sure what’s going to be bigger, your victory of the century or the love story of the century.” Neptune said.

“Hey I already won so as long as she’s happy, now come on let’s get one more photo with everyone!” Yang said and set Ruby down onto the mat in front of her and gestured Jaune and Pyrrha over to join the picture along with Qrow. The lot of them all piling together in front of Neptune holding his cellphone camera. “Everybody say ‘Champion!’”

“Champion!” Everyone said in perfect unison and all smiles.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Yang stepped out of the restroom stall and handed her urine sample for the drug test off to the medical director standing just outside of her stall. Yang remarked to herself at just how short she was, barely standing four feet if that along with bright purple eye. The only normal part about her was the head of pitch-black hair. It was only when those purple eyes snapped over to regard her with a cocked brow did Yang realize she was staring. She nodded her head and went to wash her hands and turned back to the director.

“Do you need anything more from me?” Yang asked and only received a shake of the head in response. “Not much of a talker huh?” Yang asked and again the purple eyed medic only smiled silently. “Okay…” Yang said and stepped outside the door.

The moment the door shut behind her, Neo rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated huff. She checked the container the urine sample sat in, holding it up to the light and noticed that it tested negative on all traces of any kind of drug in her system. Another huff caused her shoulders to drop.

Stepping out of the restroom, Neo handed off the sample to a real medical staff and walked down the hallway into a larger crowd. She pealed away her rubber gloves, ran a hand through her black wig and tossed both into a near by garbage can. Untying the bun atop her head allowed her brown and pink locks to flow down from her shoulders. Finally, were the contacts that she dropped on the floor and with that she was a totally different person by the time she walked out of the stadium.

Taking out her phone, she looked at the screen for a second and pursed her lips. Roman wasn’t going to be happy about this, but then again, she wasn’t either. She sent Roman a text message that read: “She passed the drug test, no trace of dust in her system.”

“How do you think she managed that?” Roman replied.

“Induced vomiting,” Neo texted and then followed it with: “it’s what I would do. I told you that you told her too early…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m never going to hear the end of this am I?”

“Nope~”

“Looks like we’re going to have to go with plan B… Promise you’ll come visit me?”

“Promise… I love you <3”

“I know~”

“Jack ass~”

“You wouldn’t have me any other way,” Roman remarked to himself. He was standing around a group of paparazzi on the opposite end of the stadium where the fighters would be ushered off into the night via their chauffeurs. Plenty of eyes all looking to be the first to get the story of the century. Either the loser who landed the legend or an interview with the champ herself. Either way, eyes were just what he needed right now.

Roman slipped his phone into his coat and felt a little deeper to the holster laying against his ribs. He grazed his fingers across the handle and drew his hand back. He unbuttoned his jacket to give himself an easier draw; leaving him to just play the waiting game now.

When the doors flung open, security guards forced the mob of people back while flashes lit the small area enough to chase away the dark of the night. Roman eased himself through the crowd as needed till he reached near the front of the row and saw his target. Not only that, he saw someone else with her. A gruff old man with stubble lining his chin and grey hair atop his head. It was hard to forget a face when you kept running into them. All the same, Qrow’s presence didn’t change a thing. If nothing else, it would only ensure a smooth execution of the plan.

“Hey blondie!” Roman shouted and the crowd around him parted to either side, making a clear path between himself and Yang. “You should have stayed down” Roman pulled his gun out from his holster and leveled it forward. In the milliseconds it took for him to aim and pull the trigger a million and one things happened at once.

One person shouted out to the crowd, warning them that Roman had a gun. Reporters all around him raised their cameras and flash pictures all at once. Roman could see Yang’s eyes sink into her skull, the fearless fighter reduced to a quivering child. His line of sight interrupted by Qrow rushing forward with hard eyes baring down on him. The muzzle flash of the pistol nearly drowned out by the flashing bulbs from the cameras while the bang caused a few others around him to shout in terror.

Whether or not the shot hit, Roman couldn’t tell as Qrow seized his arm and forced him to the ground, successfully disarming him. Qrow even went as far as to take Roman’s gun and press it to his head, pinning him in place with one arm wrenched behind his back and his face buried into the ground beneath him. All at once the world came back to its normal speed.

“You son of a bitch, don’t fucking move!” Qrow growled and shouted over the constant cries of fear and panic that bellowed out behind him. “Yang are you-” Qrow began, but couldn’t bring himself to finish.

Yang stood there, all color washing from her face, her eyes so far sunken into her skull that they looked more like a fight[Not sure what you mean here. Did you leave a word in?] candle light off in the distance. Her mouth hung agape, slack jawed horror paining her face as she gasped for air, unable to draw a full breath. Looking down to her body, she saw blood splattered across her top and reached up both hands to palm across her body to find the wound, staunch the flow, keep herself from bleeding out. Only she couldn’t feel her right hand on her torso, she couldn’t even feel her arm till she looked down and saw it was sitting less than a foot from her.

What came first wasn’t the pain, it was the shock of it all. Seeing her bloodied stump of an arm and what was left of it laying away from her. Her heart rate quickened and she felt the adrenaline take over. Her fighter instincts, but terror took its hold too quickly. She drew in the first full breath in what felt like a millennium and let out a horrified shriek. She fell back on her ass and held onto the stump as tight as she could to slow the flow of blood, but couldn’t stop herself from screaming.

Qrow holstered the gun behind his back, rushed over to Yang’s side and removed his belt. He tied it an inch or so above the wound, pulled it tight and securing it there. When he saw Roman move out of the corner of his eye, his hands instinctively grabbed the gun and pointed it over towards. Roman froze in place and kept his hands up.

“I should kill you right now!” Sun shouted and rushed over to Roman, yanking him by the collar and shaking him like a dog.

“Put him down kid, we need the police and an ambulance here now.” Qrow said, his tone calm on the surface but a lilt of anxiety laced every one of his words.

“How are you not freaking out right now, Jesus-” Neptune began.

“I don’t want to hear a single thing out of your mouth unless the next words are how long it’s going to take to get an ambulance.” Qrow snapped and looked at the gun in his hand before setting it on the ground and sliding it away from himself. He looked back to Yang to try and reassure her that everything was going to be okay only to see her eyes begin to flutter shut and her skin go pale. “Shit she’s losing too much blood, where is that ambulance!”

The last thing Yang felt or heard was her uncle’s hand at her back and his voice telling her she would be okay before oblivion consumed her vision.

_~Later~_

Yang’s mind awoke before the rest of her body had. She could feel something soft underneath her, a bed she decided after wading through the static of her mind. As the fog cleared, she was able to will parts of her body back one by one, starting with her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy as steel doors, but she managed to open them to see a figure standing at the foot of her bed. Her vision, still blurry, meant she couldn’t make out any finer details. She blinked again and the figure cleared up and with it the rest of the world around her. The subtle beeps of a heart rate monitor. The chill of a saline drip entering her veins. The aching in every one of her joints and the endless pit in her stomach.

She closed her eyes again, unable to find enough strength to keep herself awake. When she felt a dainty hand grip hers, Yang’s eyes opened again and her heavy head turned to the side to see another blurry figure. With her vision clearer now, she could tell the vague shape was Ruby by the cut of her hair and those beaming silver eyes.

“Hi Ruby…” Yang croaked out and curled her fingers around her sisters.

“Hi Yang…” Ruby said, her voice choking on tears while she tried to will herself not to shake and shutter. By the look on Yang’s face however, Ruby could already see she knew.

“Why are you crying?” Yang asked, her mind coming back to her quickly this time as she sat up in her bed as best as she could. She pulled her hand away from Ruby’s to try and support herself and felt her right side give out from under her. I must have slept on it wrong, Yang thought to herself and reached her hand over to her right to feel across the shoulder and try to will the sleeping limb back to reality.

Her fingers traced down her shoulder, down across the muscles of her bicep and grabbed onto nothing beneath the elbow. Thinking nothing of it, Yang brought her hand up to her shoulder again and traced down her arm and again felt nothing. The third time she did this, she brought her right arm up to see what was wrong and saw that nothing was there beyond a swatch of bandages covering a stump.

Yang’s eyes shot wide open, her heart rate monitor chimed with a warning at an elevated heart rate and the clouds in her mind washed away with the shock of it all. The night’s events all coming back to her. Roman, her arm, the gun, her arm, Qrow. She ground her teeth in her skull, pursed her lips and glared down at the bed before her, clenching a tight fist. Fighter instincts won out this time and her mind jolted awake. All at once she could see clearer details and finally realized where she was. Raising her head to the figure at the foot of her bed, her blood boiled at the sight before she forced herself to calm down.

“What are you doing here, why are you here?” Yang asked Raven, and gripped the sheets.

“Do you mind if we talk in private for a moment?” Raven asked Ruby who looked to Yang. Her sister’s eyes darted over to Ruby so quickly it caused her to jump and stand before she nodded her head in affirmation and Ruby stepped out of the room. “Who did this to you?”

“Don’t start acting like you care.” Yang snapped.

Raven sighed and picked up the chart at the foot of her bed, opened it up and began to read off the report.

“Your arm was shot off by a Desert Eagle .50 caliber bullet, you went in for surgery to close up the wound and they couldn’t reattach the arm because the fracture was too splintered. You’ve since gone through a transfusion to replace the blood you lost and now you’re on a saline drip to keep you hydrated while also giving you a few pain killers to keep you steady. You’ve been out for about twelve hours.” Raven set the chart down at the foot of the bed, walked over to the side of Yang’s bed and sat down. “Now that were on the same page, who shot you?”

“Why do you care, shouldn’t I be talking to the police about this?” Yang snapped again and narrowed her eyes at her mother.

“I trust the police about as far as I can throw them because I’m pretty sure I already know who did this to you or at least who was behind it, so I’m taking matters into my own hands.” Raven began and then grabbed onto her daughter’s face, wrenched it forward to force her to look into her eyes and glared at her for a moment. “Who did this to you Yang?”

Yang slapped away her hand and shoved her mother away with the hand she had left. Turning away, she bit her lower lip to fight back to tears in her eyes as her hand felt across the stump of her arm.

“Do you honestly think I don’t care about you…?” Raven asked and stood. “Do you honestly think that I don’t regret my choice to leave you with your father every single day? When you were born I held you in my arms and my heart broke and do you know why that is?” Raven shouted and stepped around to Yang’s line of sight and it was at that point Yang could see the tears pricking at her eyes. “It’s because I could never be there for you Yang… because I knew that if I really loved you, if I really cared about you I’d have to give you away. I’d have to run away so that you wouldn’t have to live the life I did. Because if I didn’t care I would have kept you, I would have forced you into the life of a mafia don’s daughter, I would have made you kill and do horrible things to people. But that’s not the life I wanted for you, I wanted you to have a better life and you did and I’m grateful for that but someone took that away from you and I’m not about to stand for that!” Raven bellowed and seized up her shoulders with a deep breath and washed away the emotion to her voice. All at once she went from an emotional mother to the head of the Branwen family with the flip of a switch. “So tell me… please… who did this to you?”

Yang looked up to her mother’s eyes, squeezed the stump of her arm till the wound started to bleed and she grit her teeth in pain. “Roman… some guy named Roman.”

_~Elsewhere~_

Qrow sat at a bus stop bench, his head resting against the back of the chair while he starred aimlessly into the sky, watching the clouds churn on. Just behind him sat the California state police department, the very same that currently held the infamous Roman Torchwick. The very same criminal he’d been hunting for years now, the very same bastard that tried to kill his niece.

He sneered at the thought of it. Roman was close enough to get to but far away enough that Qrow couldn’t wade through the red tape to get to him. To say it was frustrating would be an understatement, to classify his current feelings as livid would be taking it lightly. All the same, he sat slack against the bench and watched the clouds pass him by, no more responsible for stopping them than he was for stopping Roman.

When Qrow’s phone rang, he grumbled under his breath and let it ring for a moment, unable to find the motivation to pick it up. As the tone went on and on, his thigh buzzing constantly, he found the whole experience to be too grating to let it just pass. When Qrow yanked his phone out of his pocket, he saw who it was and willed his muscles to tense to keep himself from whipping the phone clear across the street.

It was Winter, and he had no choice but to answer.

“What!” Qrow snapped, putting more annoyance to his voice that he would have liked.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” Winter asked after an uncomfortable pause.

“No, its just… what do you want I’m kinda in the middle of something?” Qrow said and leaned his head back again.

“Where are you right now?” Winter asked.

“California state police station why?”

“Where’s Roman?”

Qrow furrowed his brows for a moment before realizing that this story had already circulated itself five times around the globe by now. He looked back to the police station and then turned back around, leaning forward and keeping the phone pressed to his ear.

“Same place, they’re keeping him in a holding cell for now till they can run him somewhere else. I already tried to talk to the officers there, gave them the whole story and they won’t budge.” Qrow said and ran a hand across his face at the memory of the near shouting match he had with the officer at the front desk. There was another pause on the line, long enough that Qrow wondered if Winter hung up on him till he said “Hello?”

“Give them the phone…” Winter said, her tone more curt than usual.

“What?”

“Give, them, the, phone Qrow.” Winter demanded, enunciating every word.

With a deep sigh of reluctance, Qrow silently got to his feet, walked up the steps of the station and stepped back inside. The moment the officer at the front desk saw him, the officer pointed to the door and asked him to leave just before Qrow slid the phone across the counter.

“It’s for you.” Qrow said and watched the officer furrow his brow, pick up the phone and turn away from Qrow. Barely two minutes passed before the officer handed the phone back to him, the color washed from his face as his eyes remained locked on the desk in front of him with beads of sweat dotting his forehead. The fearsome officer of the law reduced to a child on the wrong side of a lecture Qrow thought and then picked up the phone. “What did you say to him?”

“Not important, what is important is that there will be an Atlas transport jet on route to California within the hour, they’re taking Roman off their hands for us, you’ll return to Remnant on a civilian liner.” Winter said.

“Yeah that’s fair.” Qrow said in earnest.

“Don’t fight me on thi-” Winter began but caught herself “Excuse me?”

“This guy went after my family, I’m not exactly the person who should be trapped inside of a small box millions of feet in the air with him for twelve hours. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to wring his neck, but what good is that going to do anyone for the investigation?” Qrow said.

“My sentiments exactly…” Winter said, a minor hint of surprise or shock to her voice. “I’m also looking forward to seeing you upon your return Inspector.”

“Yeah… you too.” Qrow said.

_~Meanwhile~_

Salem sat on the balcony overlooking the backyard of the Schnee Manor. Just below, Wiess was playing with Zwei, the small dog a friend had asked to watch over for the week. With the week nearly over, Salem thought she might almost miss the little mongrel. Before she could dwell any further on these thoughts, her phone chimed with a text message and she opened it to find a screen cap of a news site. The headline not nearly as important as the picture of Roman firing a gun at Yang Xiao Long.

“Are you aware of this?” Cinder said in her text.

“Yes, and I’ve also been informed that my husband’s security team has since apprehended him as well. He’ll be here in the next twelve hours.” Salem replied.

“Do you trust him not to take a plea bargain?”

“What is Hazel doing?”

“Taking care of Junior, why?”

“Send Tyrian.”

“Are you sure?”

“Dead men tell no tales.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

After spending another few hours in the hospital to ensure Yang was stable, the doctors gave her a clean bill of health for the most part and prescribed her a bottle of pain killers to help with the wound. She’d need to keep to a strict regiment of replacing the bandages, cleaning the wound, checking the stiches and ensuring that it didn’t get infected unless she wanted to take antibiotics with those painkillers. The doctors put the prospect of physical rehabilitation on the table when Yang left, something to help with the phantom pain and phantom limb syndrome. Right now, it wasn’t something Yang was willing to entertain.

Now she just sat in the passenger side of the car, staring out the window as Blake drove. Qrow and Ruby’s last day here meant they were flying back to Remnant. The four of them spent the ride in awkward silence. Blake felt it too inappropriate to turn on the radio. Yang seemed content to stare off into nothingness. Qrow felt the tension in the air and knew better than to try and wade through it. But Ruby looked to be braver then the three of them after she decided to speak up.

“Thanks again for giving us a ride to the airport and letting us stay with you Blake.” Ruby said.

“It was no problem Ruby, we were glad to have you there.” Blake said and wrapped her hand around Yang’s only to feel her fiancé pull away. Yang drawing her arm around her waist and off to the stump. Blake caught a side long glance at this and figured the phantom pain was getting to her again. “With everything that’s gone on I didn’t exactly give you a chance to warn you, but my parents are flying down today…”

Qrow looked at Blake through her rear-view mirror, cocking his brow in an inquisitive glare as if to ask what the occasion was. Yang turned her head forward and glanced in Blake’s general direction, the first time she’d even attempted to look at her significant other in most of a day.

“It will be nice to finally meet them.” Yang said, tone dry and dull. No feeling behind those words.

With that, any attempt at conversation died just soon enough since they pulled into the parking lot of the airport. Blake popped the trunk and stepped out of the car with Qrow and Ruby, Blake looked back at Yang to silently ask her if she was going to come with them. Instead her purple eyes glanced up at Blake for a moment before looking away. After a moment of consideration, Yang reached for the door with her right arm only to stop and draw it back with a frustrated sigh and open the door with her other hand. She picked the aviator shades off the visor and slipped them on while she attempted to navigate a plain grey hoodie to no real avail.

She managed to get on arm through the sleeve, but getting the sweater to com back around so she could fit her other arm into the sleeve was a feat unto itself. That is until Blake came over to help her and draped the shoulder of the hoodie around Yang’s and tied the slack sleeve into a knot. Yang hadn’t even offered so much as a thank you for this and just stormed off towards the airport lobby.

Just before Qrow and Ruby left, they issued their final goodbyes or at least attempted to as well as they could with Yang. Qrow felt an uneasy tension to the air, the very same that consumed the car and decided against any physical contact. Ruby however took the same initiative as before and leaped forward to wrap her arms around her sister’s waist to hold her tight. Qrow was surprised to see Yang wrap her arm around Ruby and bring her in close.

“You’re going to be okay, I know you are.” Ruby said and stood up on the tips of her toes and pecked a kiss to her sister’s cheek with a halfhearted smile before dashing off to the gate at the announcement of their flights final boarding. “Bye Yang, I love you!”

“See you around firecracker…” Qrow said and waved off Yang and Blake before rushing to keep up with Ruby only to narrowly miss a broad beast of a man with a long beard and even longer hair.

The very same man waded through the crowd, followed by a smaller woman easily a foot shorter than he was with an excited smile on her face. The same smile only grew even bigger with a squeal as she hopped forward towards Blake and waved a hand in the air to catch her daughter’s attention.

“Hi sweetie!” Kali Belladonna said in perfect English. Blake looked exactly like her mother save for the way Kali kept her hair short and the lines of age cut into the underside of her eyes.

Beyond that however, Yang thought to herself that if Blake were to cut her hair, she’d have to double check who was who before she accidentally made a move on her future mother in law. Ghira on the other hand was the exact opposite. Tall, broad, full head of hair and a well-kept beard that stretched down to about his sternum. His locks making him look like a black maned lion. He crossed his massive arms over his broad chest and couldn’t stop himself from looking down on Yang due to their height difference.

“A pleasure to finally meet you Ms-” Ghira began, his tone soft but his voice booming.

“Just call me Yang,” Yang snapped without meaning to. “I’m dating your daughter after all.”

“Hello I’m Kali and this is my husband Ghira but you can just call us mom and dad if you want~” Kali beamed with a big smile that seemed infectious with how it began to creep across Yang’s face.

“Mom, come on.” Blake said with partial embarrassment.

“So, what brings you both here anyway?” Yang asked and furrowed her brow at the way the light in Kali’s eyes faded and the smile on her face began to wilt.

Kali and Ghira looked to one another and then over to Blake and Yang. Kali opened her mouth to say something, but the words died in her throat. Ghira placed a hand on her shoulder and drew in a breath to compose himself. When he began to speak in Japanese, Blake cut him off.

“She doesn’t understand Japanese, if you want to say something, you’re going to say it to both of us.” Blake said, knowing what ever it was wasn’t going to be good news.

“Very well, we want you to come home with us.” Ghira said.

“We want both of you to come home with us.” Kali said and took her daughter’s hand in hers.

“What… but why?” Blake asked and searched her parents faces.

“It’s Adam, he’s made it to the states so we want you to get you two out of here while we still have time.” Ghira said.

“We already have two extra tickets for you and your fiancé and she won’t need to worry about her visa, we’ve already taken care of everything.” Kali said, worry and concern dripping from her words and painting her face.

“I’m not going anywhere with anyone unless I get some answers, what the hell is going on here?” Yang demanded and stepped away from the three of them.

“Yang please…” Blake began.

“No, you want me to go with you you’re going to tell me what the deal is with this Adam guy and why your parents are ready to ship us out of the states like you’re a fugitive.”

“I mean technically…” Blake began and pulled her arms behind her back. “Just hear me out for a second… please?”

“… Fine.” Yang said and drew her arm across her waist.

“I came to California to escape my life back in Japan, thankfully my family has managed to stay out of the public eye that I could keep my last name while I was here but in Japan, the Belladonna name is synonymous with fear and power. My family is very well off and even more well respected in many circles of Japan’s government and underground because…” Blake drew in a breath to steady herself and sighed. “Because were a Yakuza ninja clan, and I’m the heiress to the Belladonna family. I’m going to be next in line to lead the Belladonna family.”

“And this Adam guy?” Yang asked.

“He’s the man my family tried to marry me off to before,” Blake said and noticed the way Yang glared at her parents. But before Yang could say anything, Blake interjected, holding her hands out to Yang to catch her attention. “But when I told them I didn’t want to be married off to him, because he was a psychopath and a monster, they understood and they let me run away to the states so I could hide here. Your uncle and I talked when he first got here, he told me about who your mother was and who you have family ties to and said you wanted nothing to do with that life. So, I understand if you don’t want to come with us, but I still want to be part of your life Yang…” Blake said and looked off to the side, her father placing a comforting hand at her shoulder.

“It’s Branwen by the way,” Yang said to Kali and Ghira. “Yang Branwen heiress to the Branwen Irish mafia, so you can consider this a political marriage between the families if you want, but she’s going to be my wife no matter what. So, Mister and Misses Belladonna, I’d like to take your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

“Just out of curiosity, what if I were to say no?” Ghira said with a teasing tone to his voice that earned him a jab from his wife as the two laughed it off.

“Then we’ll run away to Ireland and get married there.” Yang said and slipped her sunglasses up onto her head. She tapped Blake’s chin with her hand to direct her eyes up towards her. Yang dropped to one knee and offered her hand out to Blake and Blake took it tentatively in hers. A crowd began to amass after someone recognized Yang and phones started recording the two of them while Kali and Ghira faded off into the crowd. “Blake Belladonna, would you make me the happiest woman in the world by becoming my wife, will you marry me?”

Blake laid her hand in Yang’s and watched her lips curl into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She brought up a hand to cover her mouth while tears blurred her vision and the answer welled in her throat. A pressure on her chest that would crush her if she didn’t say it now.

“No…” Blake said and pulled her hand away from Yang’s, drawing her hands close to her chest and backing away till she felt her father at her back. Blake shook her head from side to side, tears streaking down her cheeks. “No Yang I can’t, I just can’t, I’m sorry.”

From where Blake stood, with her father’s hands on her shoulder to anchor her to where she stood, she saw the last smoldering embers of light die out in Yang’s eyes and with it a piece of her soul. Blake felt the same way by telling her this and trembled at what to expect next. Would she yell? Would she scream? Would she attack her with all these people around?

“Why…?” Yang asked and dropped her arm to her side.

“Because I don’t want you to have this kind of life Yang, I don’t want to put you in danger I couldn’t live with myself if anything more happened to you. I just can’t let you become the very thing you tried so hard to avoid becoming. Yang I’m so sor-”

“Don’t!” Yang snapped and got to her feet, she slipped her sunglasses over her eyes and clenched a tight fist till the veins in her arms bulged over the muscles. “Go, just go!” She growled again, turned away and started for the door. In her rage and fury, she stormed out of the airport lobby, her strides getting quicker till she was running to her car where she stopped at the door and saw her reflection in the window. The stoic expression on her face a mask brought by keeping her feelings in check but something she could hardly contain after seeing herself.

She pulled the sunglasses away, dropped them to the floor and saw her red puffy eyes in reflection of the window while tears streaked across her face. She screamed and threw her fist through the safety glass and sending bits and pieces scattering across the floor and the seat of the car. She drew her hand back to her side, her knuckles red from the impact, but her sleeve protecting her from any lacerations that the glass might have caused. Yang looked on at the destruction, turned her back to the car door and fell to the floor. She slammed the back of her head up against the door and howled out a cry of pain and anguish, her fist clenching so tight that her nails cut into the first layer of skin.

The world as she knew it, her world, her everything, came crashing down on to her head, burying her alive.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Qrow sat at his desk in his office at Schnee tower, his computer sitting before him opened to a blank word document. The cursor blinked to a steady unheard beat while the silence of Qrow’s office became grating on his mind. He sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair unsure what to even put on the page. He needed a report to give Jacques to show he’d made some progress on the missing Dust case, but any and all leads he had at one time were gone now.

The guards at the local penitentiary found Junior’s body strangled in his cell. A belt around his neck and his body hanging from the bed frame. All signs pointed towards suicide, but the circumstances were anything but normal. The guards failed to notice it in time to keep Junior alive and they somehow missed a belt getting through security. This was all just before Glynda managed to ask him a single question to try and get more information out of him. One more dead end in a winding maze of them.

To make a bad situation all the worse, the transport carrying Roman Torchwick went missing only a few hours after Qrow landed. Provided the transport was on scheduled, it should have beat Qrow back to Remnant and Roman would be sitting in an Atlas security cell right now waiting for questioning. At least then Qrow would have something to show for his efforts. The transport jet carrying Roman along with half a dozen Atlas soldiers only made it about half way across the states before something happened. What it was, no one knew but if the wreckage was anything to go by, Roman wasn’t willing to be taken alive, or someone wasn’t willing to let Roman be taken alive.

It was conspiracy and conjecture at best however, and that wasn’t going to hold up before Jacques. The best-case scenario Qrow might lose his job and Jacques would send him on his way. What was more likely, at least in Qrow’s mind was that Jacques was going to drag his name through the mud and he’d never hold a job in Remnant or maybe even in the states again.

Placing his hands at the top of his head, Qrow sighed again and wracked his brain for a solution. All other resources now were exhausted or dead. At this point the only thing left to do was to give up and admit defeat.

At the sound of someone knocking on his door, Qrow got up to welcome the distraction and opened his office door to see Winter standing there. He took one look at her open neck line and the cleavage she left on display even in her Atlas uniform and felt a blush come to his cheeks. His attention snapped back to Winter’s face at the sound of her clearing her throat.

“My eyes are up here Qrow, what we did that night doesn’t give you permission to stare at me like that.” Winter snapped and crossed her arms under her bust, only making the prior issue even worse.

“Sorry I’ve just never known you for one to show that kind of skin in uniform.” Qrow said and leaned in the doorframe, mimicking Winter’s stance as he crossed his arms over his own chest. When he got a better look at her face, Qrow could tell her naturally fair complexion looked more sickly now. He furrowed his brow in curiosity and said: “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine now,” Winter snapped again and padded across her sternum with a wince and a groan while another hand settled at her stomach. “I think it’s just the stress getting to me, I might have gained a few pounds over the week despite feeling like I can barely keep any food down, but my blouse doesn’t exactly fit right anymore and I’d rather you not draw any more attention to it than need be.”

“What have you got to be so stressed about anyway?” Qrow asked and shut the door to his office and gestured Winter to walk with him. He looked at the wall mounted clock and saw that it was nearly time for him to head up to Jacques office, but he’d take his time getting there.

“Six of my men are missing in action and presumed dead, Roman along with them, Junior was found dead in his cell and my father wants me to bring him the report with you so I have every right to be stressed out Qrow considering were in the same sinking ship.” Winter said, her voice raising to a near shout before she reeled herself back to compose herself and shook out her head. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you it’s just…”

“It’s a lot, I get that.” Qrow said and stepped into the elevator with Winter, hitting the first-floor button and thinking to himself why it was necessary for Jacques to only have one elevator that would lead to his office located in the dead center of the building. He chalked it up to a massive ego or maybe even paranoia.

“It is,” Winter said and rubbed the side of her head as she leaned against the wall of the elevator. “It really is…”

When they reached the bottom floor, Qrow stepped out and turned his head at the sound of a helicopter just outside. The helicopter flew around the building low enough to cause its blades to blow enough air to make the glass shake. Black hawk, Qrow thought to himself and then wondered why it was in the area let alone flying so low in a city air space.

“Your old man owns a helicopter like that?” Qrow asked and nodded to the helicopter outside.

“Atlas has a small armament of vehicles we keep stored at the local military base, they rent the lot out to us but all of our vehicles are white with the family crest.” Winter said and cocked her head to the side to get a better look at the black hawk flying around.

Before Qrow could question this any further, his phone buzzed with a reminder at the same time Winter’s did. Both looked down at their phones and simultaneously rolled their eyes at Jacques demands to see them right now and not a moment later. Qrow tapped Winter shoulder and gestured her to follow him again. They approached the front desk, flashed their badges and stepped into the elevator. The two of them spent the ride to the top in silence, Qrow because he needed something to say to his current employer. He looked over to Winter to try and read what she might be thinking and saw that she was in the same situation. Only the way she held herself was different. She didn’t want to say something to her father. The way Winter avoided even looking in his general direction, the way she held her arms loosely around her waist, the worried look to her brow.

Qrow saw this look many times before with the women in his life. Ruby, Glynda, Yang, and Blake. They all held themselves this way when they wanted to say something, they could feel the words on their tongue but couldn’t let their lips say it and Qrow wasn’t about to press the matter.

When the elevator chimed to let them know they arrived at the top floor, Qrow noticed how Winter jumped and held back a teasing scoff, thinking back to what she said. They’re both in the same sinking boat.

“Good you’re both here, we can finally begin.” Jacques said from the head of the table. All around him were various members of the team, high ranking officials like Arthur Watts and even General Ironwood. Not only that Jacques saw fit to invite his wife Salem to the meeting.

Qrow and Winter looked to one another as if to ask each other if they thought it was strange and by the look on their faces it was. Though in the back of Qrow’s mind he thought to himself that this wasn’t going to be a notice of termination of employment.

“It’s good to see you again Qrow I do hope you’ll take your time coming to get your little dog, Weiss has become so attached to him over the week. It’s a shame Jacques isn’t too fond of him or else we might just keep him.” Salem said with a playful smile and laugh as she laid a hand on her husband’s.

“Never took you for a dog person Inspector.” Ironwood said.

“Truth be told I’m not much for animals myself so I understand where our employer is coming from.” Arthur said.

“Oh, but it’s just the cutest little thing, it’s like someone put a wolf in the drier for too long and it shrank!” Salem said and giggled at the thought.

“Sounds like all the more reason to let Zwei visit more often.” Qrow retorted with a half-hearted smile and took his seat across from Winter who sat next to her step mother.

“Jokes aside, I take it this is rather serious considering who all is here.” Winter said and looked around the table.

“Thank you, Winter,” Jacques began. “It’s come to my attention that your latest has turned up a dead end, care to explain yourselves?”

“With all due respect sir…” Winter began.

“It was out of our hands, if we could will Roman or Junior back to life, we would have done it by now but we can’t be blamed for circumstances we can’t very well control.” Qrow interjected and a pause filled the room.

“Truth be told I couldn’t give a shit who is and isn’t dead, my only regret is I didn’t get to kill that little thief myself.” Jacques said.

“There is one other problem sir and I believe Doctor Watts can tell you more on that.” Ironwood said.

“Thank you general,” Arthur said and grabbed onto a small remote, pointing it off towards a projector and pulling up a blurred image of a figure clad in black with bright crimson red hair. “While we hoped our issue with Roman would have solved the Dust smuggling issue, it seems he was either not the cause or has since inspired copy cats as we’ve found-”

Something at the base of the tower rattled its away to the top floor, causing Arthur, the only one standing, to nearly lose his footing. The others braced themselves in their chairs and on the table to keep the sudden jarring from flinging them from their seating. Everyone held the same question on their face and as if to answer it, the security system sounded an alarm while someone over the public announcement system chimed in.

“Attention all employees, we have a code black, this is not a drill repeat we have a code-” The sound of a gunshot cut out the announcement followed by distant screams and more gunfire erupting around them before the public announcement system went quiet.

“Ironwood get me the hell out of here!” Jacques said and slammed his hands onto the table as he stood.

“Already on it sir we should have a-” Ironwood began before stopping himself at the sound of rotary blades chopping through the air and a Black Hawk helicopter landed on the helipad just outside of Jacques meeting room.

“Well done General, that was faster than I expected.” Jacques said and smoothed out his coat and turned towards the helipad, starting towards it and noticed the color of the helicopter sitting at the helipad. The helicopter was a standard military greenish black with no sign of his family crest along the flank of the vehicle. Jacques thought nothing of it and took another step forward and all at once he heard shouting drowned out by gunfire.

“Sir get down!” Ironwood shouted and dashed forward as fast as he could.

“Stop!” Qrow shouted and flung himself forward, feet behind Ironwood and Jacques while motion caught his eye. He looked to his side and saw Salem grab onto Winter’s collar and throw her out of her seat and onto the floor while Salem lay herself just beside her step daughter. When Qrow looked back, the doors to the helicopter opened and the long barrel of a mounted gun blasted and barked its rounds; ripping through the air, shattering the glass windows and tearing through Jacques first and then Ironwood.

With Qrow standing just behind the other two men, he saw the blood spray from their bodies as the bullets hit and instinct took hold as he flung himself back and hit the floor. The body of General Ironwood landing over top of him while the gunshots continued for a moment longer. When the gunfire finally stopped Qrow knew better than to get up right away and pushed the body of Ironwood out of the way just enough to see who the assailant was and saw a head of familiar black hair and those all too familiar soulless red eyes of his sister Raven.

Qrow looked off to the side to see Salem still under the table, nearly laying overtop of her step daughter and saw Salem’s eyes dart up to look at him. Qrow pressed a finger to his lips, gesturing her to keep quiet.

The sound of crunching glass signaled Raven’s entrance and from the pained groans coming from ahead of Qrow, Jacques somehow managed to cling onto life. That is till Raven came up to him and drew knife from a sheath at her hip and with one swift motion jammed the blade through his chest. Jacques body seized up, reaching out to Raven in one last futile gesture before going limp and lifeless. Qrow watched this display of cold fury and fought his better instincts to retaliate, not to avenge Jacques, but for his own survival as he knew he was apt to be next if he didn’t do something.

Just then, a question passed through Qrow’s mind. With Salem and Winter under the table, Jacques and Ironwood dead, where was Arthur? To answer his question, the mustached doctor shot up from behind one of the chairs and made a mad dash for the elevator at the opposite end of the room and before he even made it two steps, Raven’s knife appeared in the back of his head. The motion of throwing the knife so smooth and flawless, Qrow never even saw the blade leave her hand till he saw Raven’s hand was empty. If that was the only advantage he’d get, then it was one he was willing to take.

Qrow shoved the body of Ironwood from him, he had no time to search the body for a weapon. He dug his toes into the ground and shot forward with an outstretched hand looking to snatch his sister by the collar and wrestle her to the floor. He let out a war cry to keep her attention on him and embolden himself.

“RAVEN!” Qrow cried and saw a second weapon appear in his sister’s hand. All at once, his memories brought him back to the parking complex with his father and a knife tossed between the two of them.

Qrow saw the edge of the blade and threw himself back, years of training allowing his body to just react naturally instead of thinking about it. Raven lunged forward with the point of the knife and Qrow side stepped out of the way only to lose his footing on Ironwood’s body just beneath him and fall flat on his back with a hard thud. Without hesitation, Raven lunged herself on top of him and looked to dig the knife into his neck. He folded his wrists over one another in an X shape to catch Raven’s wrist and try and push her away, but the combination of her strength and her body weight pressing down on him proved almost too much for him to handle. The blade inching closer and closer to his neck as he locked eyes with his sister. Nothing was there, no shame, no mercy, no regret.

Another few centimeters closer to his skin and Qrow could feel the very edge of the blade against his skin. The knife cutting into him and drawing a small amount of blood. No more than a flesh wound he’d get with a shaving accident but if he didn’t do something now it was going to be more than just a small cut.

“Raven, stop!” Qrow growled through grit teeth and felt her weight lifted as she drew herself back, the blade raised high over her head looking to plunge it down into him.

Then the blade fell.

Not onto Qrow nor anywhere near him. Rather the knife Raven held fell off to the side while her body did the same. A smoking gunshot wound punched through the back of her head while Salem stood on the opposite side of the table, holding Winter’s revolver. Salem held the gun with expertise and experience he hadn’t expected from a woman Qrow assumed to be nothing more than a trophy wife. It was then he saw in her eyes the very same expression Raven had just moments ago. The very same expression that he never saw in Winter’s eyes. She’d done this before, Qrow thought to himself.

“Are you alright Qrow?” Salam asked and set the revolver down onto the table and walked over to help Qrow back to his feet.

“Yeah, she just nicked me is all…” Qrow said and felt across his neck to feel the small wound still there, his fingers damp with his own blood. At the sound of the gunshot, the helicopter just outside took off and Qrow thought nothing more of it. “Deferring to you for further orders ma’am.”

“I already have an Atlas strike team cleaning up the chaos Raven’s men left down in the offices and the police are on their way with a medical team.” Salem sighed and looked out the window to see the retreating helicopter. “It’s not going to be hard to find that helicopter either. When the strike teams give the all clear I want both of you to comply with the police on this and take the rest of the day off. I’m sure you could both use it.”

Qrow looked past Salem to see Winter picking up her pistol from the table and looking it over like it was foreign to her before turning to see the bodies strewn about the conference room turned battlefield.

“Yeah… I think you’re right…” Qrow said.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

The day’s events weighed on Qrow’s mind heavier than he’d like. He tried to look at things objectively, like an inspector, like he was trained to do. Handle it like a job, take the personal stuff out of the equation and just think of it like a puzzle. Move the pieces where they needed to go, put together a picture and try not to think about what each of those pieces might be. It was easier before. When he was a police officer it was the matter of finding justice for victimized, for the families of the dearly departed, so he could go home and tell himself he was a hero. When he was a soldier, it was a matter of distance, both physical and emotional. It wasn’t a person that was in front of him, it wasn’t a human being in his scope that he was shooting, that he was stabbing, that he was killing. It was his own survival above all others and what kept telling himself he had to do. When he was a boy, when he was the Branwen heir, it was what the family wanted. What his father wanted him to do and that disconnect that he wasn’t the guilty one when he had to walk into a store and take a baseball bat to the owner’s head for being late on a payment, no it was the family that made him do it.

Just how he was supposed to detach himself from this he couldn’t tell. No matter how hard he tried, he could stop seeing Raven’s eyes piercing through him. No regret, no remorse, no real thought put into what she was doing because she removed herself from killing that it was as natural as breathing for her Qrow wondered how long it took for her to get that way, he wondered why he wasn’t the same way. They were twins, born at the same time and to a cursed fate where only one would take the title of head of the Branwen family. They grew up together, trained together, served in the armed forces together and killed together. And yet…

The sound of sniffling down the hall caused the haze around Qrow’s vision to clear and he saw there a figure kneeling at his door. Long blond hair matted and messy, hanging around her face to conceal her identity but it was easy enough for Qrow to know just who it was. He just wished and thought to himself that the two could have met under better circumstances.

“Hey firecracker.” Qrow said and offered out a hand to Yang who took it and used it to hoist herself back to her feet. “Long way from home…”

She ran her hand through her hair to brush the stray locks from her face, looking off to the side as she stroked the back of her head. Yang drew in a breath that caused her shoulders to hitch high before dropping and turning to face Qrow. Her eyebrows wagging in favor of any real expression.

“Yeah I uhhh…” Yang paused. “I just started driving and before I knew it I was here, didn’t even know that you were still at the same apartment either so I guess-”

“Place hasn’t changed much,” Qrow said and unlocked the door, inviting Yang inside. Yang took her seat at the island in the center of the kitchen while Qrow grabbed a couple of glasses and a bottle of whisky from the cabinet. He silently offered Yang a drink and she smiled with a nod. Qrow splashed two fingers worth into one cup and then the same into another. The two clinked glasses and knocked back the contents with one swallow. Yang refreshed both of their glasses and they sipped idly in silence.

The silence was nice, the company made it bearable and the presence of another, both Qrow and Yang could tell, was what they both needed. When the thought of the events today crossed Qrow’s mind, he knocked back the contents of his glass in a futile attempt to embolden himself. Yang deserved to know.

A knock at the door kept Qrow from saying anything and in the back of his mind he thought it was perhaps a sign just till he opened the door and saw a young woman standing there. She was about a head and a half shorter than him, short hair nearly shaved. Her clothes matched her hair style, a sort of punk aesthetic with a brown jacket with the sleeves ripped off and a pair of torn red pants. She carried with her a file folder under her arm.

“Qrow Branwen?” The woman asked and peered over his shoulder to see Yang trying to get a better look at her. “And I take it you’re Raven’s daughter Yang?”

“You got business with us?” Qrow asked, blocking the door fully with his body.

“Unfortunately, I do. My name is Vernal; can I come in?”

“No,”

“Alright…” Vernal said and raised her brow before turning her gaze over to the folder in her hand. “I’m here to give you Raven’s last will and testament since her passing, with both of you being here this makes my job a bit easier. Raven saw fit to leave you two and only you two her worldly possessions as well as the title of head of the Branwen family. Only one of you will carry this title blah, blah, blah, you get the idea.” Vernal rolled her eyes and clapped the folder shut. “The family needs new leadership and it has to be one of you. You’re the only two Branwen’s left…”

“No thanks, good bye.” Qrow stepped from the doorframe and looked to slam the door on Vernal only to have her stick a booted foot in the door way and offer out a business card.

“I was Raven’s most trusted confidant, she told me everything about you and about her,” Vernal said, nodding to Yang and offering out the card once more. “If you change your mind.”

Realizing it was the only way to get Vernal off his doorstep, Qrow took the card and watched the girl retreat before shutting the door fully. He looked down at the card and slipped it into his back pocket. Looking over to Yang, Qrow saw her staring down at her empty glass.

“I lost my arm, I lost my career, I lost the love of my life and now my mother…” Yang choked on a sob while tears ran down her face and her hand gripped tight to the glass till it began to fracture under her grip. In a moment of unthinking fury, she threw the glass and watched it shatter against the wall, leaving a dent. It was with the sound of shattering glass that Yang brought herself back and gripped the side of her head. “I’m sorry I should have done that I’m just so…”

“What are you sorry for?” Qrow asked, his tone resolute and calm.

“Because I just…” Yang paused and gripped her hair, shaking as she bared her teeth. “I just…”

“You’re dealing with a lot and I’m not going to blame you for that either. You want to be sad, be cry till you feel better. You want to be happy and make the most of a shitty situation, smile and I’ll smile with you. You want to be angry,” Qrow stepped over before Yang and shoved her back hard enough to cause her to hit the wall. “God damn it get angry!” Qrow shouted and watched as Yang shoved off the wall and balled a fist to throw a punch at him. The throw was wide, sloppy because of emotion. This made it easy enough for Qrow to redirect the hit and cause Yang to tumble onto the couch where Qrow walked around to stand over her. “You’re allowed to be upset, but what you’re not allowed to do is let these emotions rule you and decide for you. You might feel like you hit rock bottom, hell I’m right there with you but what you’re going to find there is a shovel and a sign that reads ‘start digging’ and you have to decide if you want to dig yourself down or dig yourself out. So what’s it gonna be firecracker?”

Yang sat up on the couch and Qrow sat beside her. Yang looked down to the floor and tears still ran down her cheek. Qrow placed a hand at her back and Yang looked over towards him before falling into his chest and laying her head against Qrow’s collar bone. She let out a mournful wail and gripped tight to his shirt while Qrow wrapped his arms around Yang and felt the tears flow over his eyes as he held Yang close and tight.

_~Days later~_

Days passed and Atlas and Schnee employees stood shoulder to shoulder in an air field while rows of caskets laid out before them. Standing off to one side were a row of Atlas soldiers in uniform holding rifles at their sides ready for a twenty-one-gun salute to the fallen. Salem, the new head of the Schnee company by way of Jacques’ last will, asked all employees of the Schnee company to join the ceremony as a display of solidarity and community for those that perished in the attack. The makeshift funeral processions were held in an airfield so that the dearly departed might be sent home to be with family one last time.

Qrow stood among the crowd listening to Salem give her speech to all present and saw her two step daughters and step son sitting beside her. Whitley Schnee, the youngest boy of them all looked more bored and tired then anything else. Winter kept a stoic face though the energy around her felt darker and stagnant. Between the two of them Winter’s younger sister Weiss sat with her hands in her lap and her head bowed low, her shoulders hitching with every other breath while she tired to keep her composure. It was hard enough for the kid to lose her father, but to have this many eyes on her in her time of mourning would have pushed any other kid to their breaking point. When Winter reached over and took Weiss’s hand in hers, he understood how she could stay as strong as she was in this moment.

All of this made Qrow think of his sister, Yang’s mother. He thought of her body being inside one of those coffins among the dozens sitting there and remembered that one of them was Jacques. He held back the urge to scoff at the thought of the last words he heard the man say. ‘…my only regret was that I didn’t get to kill the little thief myself.’

Vernal assured Qrow in a letter addressed to him only a few days earlier that the funeral for Raven was to be a private affair. Cremation with the ashes spread in Ireland. No grave, no funeral, nothing beyond her ashes scattered to the winds. In the back of Qrow’s mind he told himself she didn’t deserve a grave, neither of them did. The letter went on to address the matter of the last will and set of copies for Yang and Qrow detailing what all they would receive. Beyond a lump sum of money and a decent one at that, Raven left Yang most of her possessions but Raven left Qrow the family sword. An ornate red steel katana given to them by an old family friend after their grandfather served in the second world war. When the war ended and the Branwen’s looked to track down the family who previously owned the sword they found the crest along the handle and guard belonged to the Belladonna clan who later insisted the Branwen family keep it as a show of respect between families. Since then the sword changed hands among the Branwen family down from one head of the family to the next and if Qrow or Yang accepted their role as leader, they’d be the next one to wield it.

The bellowing voice of the Atlas officer warned everyone what was to come as the soldiers picked up their rifles and turned off to the side. Their rifles shouldered and pointed towards the sky barked out a gunshot upon every order to fire. The shells were blanks to ensure no one go hurt, but regardless of the danger and the warning, nearly everyone flinched and tensed at the sound of the gunshots echoing through the air field.

With the ceremony concluded and everyone going to pay their respects, Qrow slipped a flat cap over his head and moved through the crowd looking to leave while he still had the chance. Salem spoiled this opportunity when she caught his attention, though with Winter and the other kids getting into a separate car, she looked to have the same idea.

“Inspector Branwen.” She said and came up beside Qrow as the two walked through the airfield.

“Just call me Qrow from now on, something tells me that inspector title won’t mean much anymore.” Qrow said and kept his eyes forward as he walked with Salem.

“Quite the contrary I should think, I’d like to talk to you a bit more about your role in the company.” Salem said and nodded to a car sitting not far from where they were. “Please, let’s take a drive.”

Qrow sighed and acquiesced as he stepped into the back seat of the car with Salem sitting right beside him. She sat much in the same way Winter had; hands in her lap, back straight, prim and proper. Qrow on the other hand slung his arm over the back of the chair and leaned back. Formality only went as far as the suit he was wearing.

“I know this may be hard to talk about right now considering your sister’s attempt on your life as of recently…” Salem said and turned towards Qrow at the feel of his eyes on her.

“How did you know she was my sister?” Qrow asked and furrowed his brows at her.

“You did mention her name, or rather shouted it when we were in the office.” Salem said and passed it off with a scoff only to see this hadn’t dissuaded any prior suspicions Qrow had.

“Yeah, I knew her name but it’s a bit of a stretch to assume we were related at all let alone the fact that I never mentioned we shared the same last name, at least not to you.” Qrow said.

“Right it was the officers, they must have let something slip while I was talking to them.” Salem said and tightened her hands in her lap while she kept her eyes forward despite Qrow’s consistent glare. “In any case I think this Adam character-”

“Who?” Qrow asked and saw Salem flinch and bite her lower lip.

“The man from the pictures on the Dust transport?” Salem said and gave Qrow a passing glance. “Really Qrow there is no need to play ignorant here-”

“You mean that blurry picture from the train with no real details beyond a suspect with red hair and you managed to figure out that his name was Adam despite having no real face to go off of for facial recognition software.” Qrow snapped.

“Jacques and I are business partners just as well as we were husband and wife, he made mention of the name to me before the meeting since we needed to figure out just who was behind this Dust theft case.” Salem said and balled her hands into tight fists, her voice wavering either out of anger or concern, the way she composed herself was hard to tell.

“Well either Winter is a liar or you and Jacques are a lot closer than I thought because I remember Winter saying he doesn’t really talk with his family very much anymore.” Qrow began and positioned himself with his hand on the door as he turned to face Salem fully. “So what excuse are you going to use to try and throw me off and maybe salvage your innocence?”

Salem’s shoulders dropped and with a single blink of her eyes, a darkness shrouded them as her whole-body language changed. Before there were no signs of grief or even sorrow at what happened, not in the same way as Winter or Weiss at least. But now it was clear as day with her emotion filling the cabin of the car as she turned her darkened gaze over to Qrow. Her voice lacking in the emotion it had before but carried with it a brutal honesty that rang true to her character.

“How long have you known?” Salem said.

“Not long at all, I never got the chance to talk with Roman about what he did to my niece or why he did it but I knew Raven wouldn’t be too happy about it. I wanted to make sure he was in Atlas custody before she could get to him and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t throw him to the wolves just as soon as he stopped being useful to us.” Qrow said.

“But you never got that chance…” Salem explained, her calm tone caused Qrow’s spine to rattle and shake with every word.

“No I didn’t, but that left me questioning why she went after Jacques, why the Branwen mafia of all people went on a suicide mission into Schnee tower. Raven isn’t one to die in a blaze of blood and glory for the sake of it, there was a reason behind her actions. Since she’s gone she can’t exactly speak for herself but as her brother I have an idea… to me it seems like Raven wanted revenge more than anything and since she couldn’t take it out on Roman she’d go after the person who gave them the orders to do it. How long has he be working for you Salem?”

“Oh a few years now, he was a perfect fit too, the Dust smuggling operations he carried out were quick and easy and even though he had no issue killing or hurting anyone he seemed to try and avoid it which I certainly appreciated.” Salem said.

“So why get rid of him?” Qrow asked.

“Because there is no honor amongst thieves, the moment he’d get a better offer from someone like you he’d turn on us so I sent one of my more expendable assets off to kill him. I didn’t think he’d make such a mess though, really a shame too since I’m down three people in total in my… cabal shall we call it?” Salem offered and scoffed.

“So where does Adam fit into all of this?” Qrow asked and noticed the driver had taken backroads through a bad part of Remnant. Vacuo by the looks of it, a small ghetto town that no one went to unless they had no other choice. Driving a nice car like this was apt to turn some heads but no one would notice a body dropped out of a car. Or rather everyone would just choose to forget they saw anything at all.

“What do you think this is Qrow, a spy movie where I’m going to divulge every little bit of my dastardly plan to you?” Salem laughed and the very air around them chilled to the point of Qrow’s breath freezing in his lungs. “What do you think is stopping me from killing one more person on this path I’ve carved out for myself?”

“To a normal person probably nothing. But you’re smarter than that or at least I thought you were because you know what my last name is and you know who my sister was…” Qrow began and saw Salem lean back in her chair, intrigued by what Qrow said and allowed him to continue. “You kill me, someone finds the body and suddenly you have the whole Branwen mafia coming down on your head, hell someone is probably already moving to do exactly that.”

“So, I kill off a few more, what’s one snow flake atop a mountain?” Salem said.

“The start of an avalanche,” Qrow glared at Salem and steeled himself. “The very same you could have at your beck and call.” Salem once again silently gestured Qrow to continue, that same look of intrigue or morbid curiosity on her face with just the slightest hint of a smirk. “My family, the Branwen mafia, were all old school and still play by the same rules. You were attacking the problem from the wrong side, you were making enemies when you could have had the most powerful allies in the United States and Mexico. You want the loyalty of the family we do this the old-fashioned way.”

“That would be…?” Salem asked and cocked a brow at Qrow.

“Marry me off, I’m the next in line for head of the family and any other member of the mafia would kill for a chance like this. We’ve done it before with other mafia families, it’s how we secured our power in the first place. So tell one of your daughters they’re getting hitched or hell go pick out a ring because last I checked you’re recently single.” Qrow said and listened to that bone chilling laugh Salem had while a genuine smile came to her face.

“You’re charming I’ll give you that, but most certainly too young for me,” Salem said and sighed. “Winter might be a better fit for you all things considered. After all, you are the father of her child, or will be for that matter.” The look on Qrow’s face said he demanded an explanation but didn’t know how to phrase the question or wasn’t brave enough to ask. “You had to have noticed by now, or at least I have with how off she’s been. I found her in the bathroom bawling her eyes out a few weeks ago holding onto a pregnancy test. She tested positive and told me that it was yours. So I guess congratulations are in order.” Salem said and gestured to the driver to pull off to the side where the driver stepped out and opened the door for Qrow.

Qrow followed this cue to step out while he still had the chance and took a look around to orientate himself and figure out just where he needed to go from here. When he looked back to the car, he saw Salem stepping out and stand before him, she adjusted his coat and slipped a cellphone into his pocket and tapped her hand over the pocket.

“We’ll be in touch.” Salem said with a coy smile before slipping back into the car and vanishing down the road.

Qrow looked at the phone Salem gave him and figured it was nothing more than a burner and slipped it back into his pocket in favor of his own phone and the business card Vernal gave him. He called up the number and listened to the dial tone ring once.

“Vernal, I’ll take the position,” Qrow said before she could even greet him. “First order of business is that I’m bequeathing you the money my sister left me in her last will, second order of business… you’re fired.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

“You look stunning.” Qrow said from the doorway of Winter’s changing room. He peered over her shoulder to see her reflection in the full body mirror. The white dress holding onto her form and cinching around the waist and hips before flowing out into a bloom of the dress that hit the floor. A modest neckline accentuated the lace straps around draped around her shoulders.

Winter smiled at the compliment, her full ruby red lips curling up despite her better efforts to hide this. She lowered her head and looked away from herself and Qrow as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. This was one of the few times she’d ever worn her hair down and Qrow thought to himself that he might like to see that more often.

He walked further into the dressing room, his foot falls causing Winter to look up from where she was and see Qrow approach from behind in the reflection of the mirror. Qrow placed a hand at Winter’s shoulder and felt her tense for a moment before she relaxed, a wave of goose bumps washing over her exposed skin while Winter looked over her shoulder at Qrow’s hand and traced her eyes along his arm till the two made eye contact. They held each other’s gaze for a moment before Winter turned away from Qrow with a huff and a sigh.

“Don’t you know its bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony?” Winter said and looked down to the floor again.

“I got plenty of that already, what’s a little bit more.” Qrow said and rasped a laugh and drew his hand away, slipping it into his pocket as he looked away from her. “Can we talk?”

“What do you want?” Winter asked and refused to even so much as give the mirror a passing glance out of fear she’d catch Qrow looking at her and lose herself in his gaze again.

“Your…” Qrow sighed and bowed his head. “Salem, she mentioned you were pregnant,” Qrow said and raised his brow at how Winter twirled around to face him with shock in her eyes. “She said you already knew who the father was too.” Qrow said and held up his hands and backed away towards the door. “Listen I don’t have to be your husband, I don’t have to be anything to you but let me be a father to our child… please.”

“Did Salem put you up to this too?” Winter asked and turned away from Qrow. She scolded herself for allowing more emotion to show in her voice than she’d like.

“No, she didn’t…”

“Then why do you care, I could just as easily get rid of it and have one less problem to deal with.”

“If that’s what you want to do, then I’ll support you, but if you want to keep it I want to help you raise it. I’m not doing it for any reason beyond my own, because…” Qrow began and swallowed back a lump forming in his throat at the thought of Ruby and Yang. “Because I already had to raise two little girls after cancer took their mom and depression took their dad. I don’t want to bring a kid into this world and not give them that much.” Qrow stepped forward and wrapped his hands around Winter’s waist and felt across her abdomen. Winter’s own hands overlapping his as she looked at the two of them in the mirror together. “Please, let me give them that much…”

Winter drew in a breath to steady her nerves and keep her hands from shaking any more than they already were. She bit her lower lip and turned around to face Qrow, seized him by the collar of his suit and pressed her lips to his. When she pulled away, all emotions left her with a sigh, leaving her with calm and tranquility. Winter draped her arms over Qrow’s shoulders and held him close, feeling comfort in the way he held her by the waist.

“You know were supposed to wait till the part where they pronounce us man and wife.” Qrow teased and smiled at the way Winter smiled.

“I want you to be more than just the father of my child Qrow…” Winter said and found a sense of guilty victory overcome her with the look that came over Qrow’s face.

“You know what to say then, oh yeah and do me a favor and make sure the bouquet gets to the blond guy, you’ll understand why.” Qrow said and pulled away, winking to Winter before passing beyond the threshold to take his place at the Alter to wait for her.

Ozpin stood at Qrow’s side ready to officiate the marriage while the bride’s maids and the groom’s men all stood on either side of the walk way. Salem had made it known to Winter and Qrow what the meaning behind this marriage was; it was to be a political marriage between two families, love was only optional. The ceremony itself was kept small, a mostly private affair save for a few family members invited to attend.

Among the guests were Ren and Nora, the neighbors that kept an eye on Ruby when Qrow was out of town. Nora was a stay at home wife for the most part, a role her husband Ren insisted on after Nora worked two full time jobs to help put Ren through medical school. Now that her husband was a full-time doctor, he felt it was Nora’s turn to take a bit of a rest. His career choice was more than beneficial to Qrow as Ren worked the system in his favor as much as he could when it came to Ruby’s medication. As well as a few of his own medical bills. Because of that, choosing him as one of his grooms’ men was an obvious choice while Winter opted to have Nora as one of her Brides maids.

Jaune and Pyrrha made their places at Qrow and Winter’s sides respectively. The idea behind this being that Salem wanted these people to talk and spread the word. Get the information out there that one of the Schnee heirs was recently married off, curry favor in the public eye. What better way to do that than with the hottest couple in the news right now. Along with that, Salem could let it be known to those who worked in underground dealings that the Branwen family was now under the protection of the Schnee and vice versa.

Finally, Weiss and Ruby stood at the edge of either row, a perfect complement considering Weiss would legally be his sister and Whitley his brother in law. Though Wiess held the privilege of being Winter’s maid of Honor. Yang had her own chance to participate in the ceremony as well. Qrow offered her the position of his Best Man, or Woman in this case and Yang was happy to accept.

When the music began, Qrow tensed and drew in a breath as he looked down the trail and saw Winter walking herself down the aisle. A bitter sweet scene that looked to show on Winter’s face just beyond the veil she wore. Still though, Qrow couldn’t help but smile at the way she looked in her dress and thought back to how the two first met. He laughed at himself and saw Winter crack a smile beyond her veil. Qrow regained his composure after Yang elbowed him in the ribs just in time for Qrow to lift Winter’s veil and take her hands in his.

“In favor of the usual spiel that I don’t think anyone here actually wants to listen to, perhaps we can let the bride and groom say a few words to one another.” Ozpin said and shut his bible, tucking it under his arm as he looked to the two of them. “Ladies first?”

“Gladly.” Winter said with a chuckled, and squeezed onto Qrow’s hands. “When I first met you, I put a gun to your head. Not without reason either considering you were the most obstinate, pig headed, selfish man I had ever met including my own father.” Winter said and listened to the laughter rise around her. “But as I worked with you, as I got to know you a little better, I realized that it wasn’t any of those things that I saw in you, what was really there was a person still willing to choose the greater good over the orders given to him. I see a man determined to do right by the family he has,” Winter said and nodded to Ruby and Yang and then off to Glynda sitting in the pews and Weiss. “And do right by the family he’s made. Even despite what fate may have given him. A man who will never give up and so long as he keeps going, I hope to be at his side walk, running, or charging along with him.”

“Now there is a tough act to follow,” Qrow said and chuckled at the laughter around him and thought it over for a moment. Trying to think of the words to say before deciding on speaking from the heart the same way Winter did. “The circumstances that brought us together made it feel like a case of bad luck getting worse all the time. I was demoted from Sargent to just an officer and on top of that, I’d be given a baby sitter to make sure I wasn’t misbehaving or getting into any more trouble. I thought for sure that this was going to be the end of my career as an officer, but even after I found myself without a job due to unforeseen circumstances, there you were, at my doorstep with a contract in hand and an offer I’d be stupid to refuse. You weren’t going to loan me money or even try to offer it because you knew I wouldn’t take it cause I’m too proud of working by the sweat of my brow. So you offered me a job alongside you and it was with that position that we grew close. What I thought when I first saw you walking into the station was ‘Oh great, daddy’s princess is here to play with his toy soldiers…’ But I guess I saw something in there that I’ve only ever seen when I’ve looked in the mirror. That realization and that no matter who you are, fate will only decide what you let it, and I’m letting it decide this for me now.”

Qrow heard sobbing and heavy breathing come up from around him and the noise raise him from the tunnel vision of looking towards his wife now. Both Winter and Qrow looked around to see that the crowd barely held back tears while Winter’s own eyes pooled with her own tears of joy. Unable to speak, Yang covered her mouth with her hand and reached inside her suit coat to produce the rings and handed them off to Qrow, waving him off to finish the ceremony. Qrow slipped a ring around Winter’s finger and Winter did the same for Qrow.

“I should think no one here would object so I now pronounce you man and wife, you may now kiss the bride.” Ozpin said.

The two folded into each other’s arms, bodies pressed together while Qrow rested his arms around Winter’s waist and Winter wrapped her arms around the back of Qrow’s head. The two shared a kiss deep and passionate while cheers and applause raised around them. When the two parted, they could each see in the others eyes a renewed spark of life.

“Alright come on everyone, gather around for the bouquet toss!” Yang said and playfully shoved everyone along.

“Jaune you stand in front, you need every chance you can get!” Ruby teased and positioned Jaune in front of the crowd.

“Hey what’s that supposed to mean?” Jaune asked.

“Don’t worry about it.” Pyrrha said with a wink and stood beside him.

Winter nodded to Qrow with a knowing smile and took the bouquet in hand turned her back towards the crowd. Qrow stepped off o the side to give her some room for the toss. Winter brought the flowers down around her waist, hoisted them up into the air and… stopped. She held them above her head, looked over to her shoulder and saw Jaune standing at the front of the row. She turned, walked towards him and handed the flowers off to the boy.

Jaune looked down at the flowers in his hand then back up to Winter and then around to everyone else. They all held the same expression on their face. They wall wanted to say something, it was playing on their lips and it looked ready to burst from their chest. But this right was Pyrrha’s and one she took the honor of by sidling up beside Jaune and taking his hand in hers. A dumb struck look still on Jaune’s face suggested he still didn’t quite understand what was going on right now.

“What do you say Jaune, want to give it a shot?” Pyrrha asked.

Qrow watched on as Jaune’s mouth just hung open and the color washed from his face. He stayed there frozen till he snapped his mouth shut and nodded his head, the only real means of communication he could muster in this moment. Qrow, however, couldn’t enjoy the festivities too much anymore once he felt his phone vibrate in his coat pocket. Reaching inside, he pulled out the burner and only saw the number read ‘REDACTED’ though he had an idea of who was on the other end of the line.

Excusing himself from the cathedral, he stepped off into a stray hallway and flipped open the phone, waiting for Salem to speak.

“How was the ceremony?” Salem asked.

“If you actually cared about that you would have shown up to your own step daughter’s wedding, now what do you want?” Qrow growled.

“There is no need to be hostile with me, I’ll make an appearance at the reception, its just that priests aren’t exactly my thing.” Salem said. “In any case I hope you don’t have anything planned for the honeymoon because you’ll be busy.”

“What do you want?” Qrow asked again, another deeper growl to his voice.

“Something I think we’d both enjoy a little too much, Roman is alive, I want you to fix that for me…” Salem said.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Only two days after the marriage ceremony and Qrow was back to work. He sat at the long table of what used to be Jacques’ office along with a few other characters. Adam Taurus sat to his right, directly behind him when facing towards Salem's seat that sat at the head of the table. This was Qrow’s first time meeting the man face to face despite his prior knowledge of who the man was. The very air around him chilled and sickened Qrow, a constant quelled rage simmering just underneath his skin. This only made his bright red hair feel all too appropriate though the sword he carried with him felt cartoonish to Qrow.

Salem had yet to join them yet, leaving Qrow and Adam along with Cinder and Emerald to talk among themselves.

Qrow turned his chair to face the table and set his elbows down, leaning forward. His eyes darted to the side at the notice of movement from Adam but chose to ignore it. Everything about that man set him on edge. Instead however, Qrow looked on at Emerald and cocked a brow at her, his mind wracking itself trying to remember where he’d seen her before. Dark skin, green hair, red eyes, that was all rather hard to forget.

“What?” Emerald snapped, breaking the silence.

“Nothing,” Qrow replied and leaned back in his chair. “You just look familiar is all, really don’t appreciate you planting that stuff on me back at the college though.”

“How do you-”

“It’s called deductive reasoning kid, since you’re sitting here now that means you work for Salem or at least with one of her lieutenants which means you were trying to get me out of the picture as quickly as possible with something that wouldn’t raise suspicion like an outright assassination.” Qrow said and then went on. “So you slipped me some pure dust, lifted my wallet and told the campus police that I was dealing. Simple and clever, using what you know to get a job done. I’m impressed.”

“I… you…” Emerald bared her teeth, leaning over the table and gripping its edge before feeling Cinder’s hand graze her thigh under the table and all at once her words came back to her along with a light blush across her cheeks. “Thank you…”

“So, since Houdini over here has a thing for you,” Qrow asked and nodded to Cinder. “What’s your deal?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Cinder asked and brushed a lock of black hair over her ear and postured herself in such a way as to almost bow before Qrow.

Qrow saw this too many times before in companion bars and prostitutes. Make you feel like you’re the one in control just till they decide to slap you with a bill and suddenly you’re out two or three hundred dollars. Qrow held up his left hand to show a wedding band around his finger and cocked a brow at Cinder who all at once returned to her original position, leaning back in her seat. Much to Emerald’s relief.

“It’s just business for me,” Cinder said.

“I’m going to go ahead and pretend to buy that and move on to you and why you insist on trying to burn a hole in my skull by staring at me.” Qrow said and nodded over to Adam.

“Branwen right?” Adam began and watched Qrow nod. “You know the Belladonnas talk about your family quite a bit, they brought your name up a few times especially when it came to why their family sword was missing.”

“It’s been passed down from one head of the family to the next, I’m no different only I don’t insist on carrying mine with me.” Qrow said.

“Do you know what makes the steel red?” Adam asked and drew his sword, his eyes tracing along the crimson shine of the blade before sliding it back into the sheath with a click. “It’s because the steel contains trace amounts of copper that the steel blends with during the forging process. It turns the metal that bright red hue. The legend behind it is that these swords are forged from the blood of a mountain god and there are only three in existence. One to the Taurus clan, one to the Khan clan, and the third to the Belladonna clan. I currently own two of them.”

“If you want the sword that badly you can have it,” Qrow said and pulled his suit coat open to show a gun holster pressed against his ribs. “I’ve found these to be way more effective.”

“That’s quite enough from the both of you I think.” Salem said from the doorway of the elevator and walked in to the room, taking her seat at the head of the table. “I’m glad you’re getting to know your fellow co-workers Mr. Branwen but I’d prefer you not antagonize them as well.”

“I’d prefer you just call me Qrow from now on. Let’s get to the point too, Roman’s alive somehow and that’s a problem because…?” Qrow asked.

“The issue isn’t him being alive, he’s too much of a coward to try and do anything to oppose me so he’ll stay exactly where he is till death comes for him. What I want is for you to prove your loyalty to me, I want you to hunt him down and kill him.” Salem said.

“You cannot be serious,” Emerald began and flinched away once Salem’s cold glare centered itself onto Emerald’s form. “With all due respect ma’am,” Emerald started again and swallowed back her nerves. “You said it yourself, Roman was the lynch pin in Qrow’s investigation, you went out of your way to assassinate him even going as far as to crash a plane and kill a dozen Atlas soldiers to do it. You are not seriously considering sending him, are you?”

“I know very well what I did and didn’t do Emerald, but if you’re so worried about Qrow double crossing me, then you’ll be going with him. If he tries anything or if Roman gets away you have my full permission to kill Qrow where he stands in that moment. Have I made myself abundantly clear to both of you?” Salem said and turned to Qrow and then back to Emerald.

“Y-yes, yes ma’am, thank you ma’am.” Emerald said and bowed her head low.

Qrow looked on at Emerald sitting across from him and furrowed his brow at the sight of her. Just a moment ago this woman was confident and just barely leashed by Cinder sitting next to her, but with a single gaze and orders given to her, that bravado washed away. Qrow sighed, rolled his eyes and stood.

“Be ready in the next twelve hours.” Qrow stood and started for the door.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” Salem asked, her tone calm but her words heavy. In response, Qrow turned around to face her, locked his eyes with hers and stood there unflinching.

“I need equipment to pull this job off, or would you rather I improvise?” Qrow asked and cocked his brow at Salem.

“Atlas will loan you anything you need there is hardly a reason for you to go out and get it yourself.” Salem said.

“Atlas also has serial numbers written on every last piece of equipment they have and if one of those is left behind that suddenly leads back to you. You and I both know you’re smarter than that so I’ll be using my own equipment. No serial numbers, no registration, all of its clean and can’t be traced back to anyone beyond the materials used to make it. Now do I have your permission to leave?” Qrow asked, his face contorting into a half snarl of annoyance that seemed to impress everyone else at the table, even drawing a smile across Cinder’s face.

“You are free to leave Qrow…” Salem said and waved him off.

Qrow scoffed, turned his back to Salem and stepped inside the elevator. The moment the doors closed behind him, he let out a heavy sigh. Reaching inside of his coat he produced a phone and dialed in a number. Pressing it to his ear he listened to the dial tone chime on for some time till the call connected. No one greeted him on the other end.

“Forgive me father…” Qrow said.

“What all do you need?” Ozpin responded.

_~Later~_

Qrow sat in the basement of the church that Ozpin called home. He sat on a single chair in an otherwise empty room. At the far end, a metal locker stood six feet tall, four feet wide, and a pad lock over the handle. Qrow stared at that pad lock like he could unlock it with his mind but in all actuality, he just couldn’t bring himself to even touch it. He sat there for close to an hour, the rosary that Ozpin gave him in hand, feeling the cold metal as he twisted the trinket around between his fingers.

When he smelled something sweet under his nose, Qrow looked down to see a steaming mug offered out to him by Ozpin. The old man smiled back at him and nodded to the cup, Qrow took it and toasted the glass to him before taking a swig. He looked down and grimaced at the contents of the mug and then back to Ozpin.

“Hot chocolate?” Qrow asked.

“Would you prefer something else?” Ozpin said and swirled his mug around before taking a swig of his own.

“No this is fine, never took you for a coco kinda guy though.” Qrow said and took a swig from his mug and looked down at the glass again. It was good, thick, creamy, just the right amount of sweet.

“There is a catharsis in making it from scratch, something Miss Rose appreciates as well whenever I come to visit. Speaking of which…” Ozpin began and nodded over to the locker.

“Yang’s been staying with us for a while so Ruby has someone to watch her while I’m gone.” Qrow said and blew a stream of air between his lips as he looked on at the lock with Ozpin.

“I was many things before I was a priest Qrow, I’ve made many mistakes, did many things I refuse to forgive myself for and I’ve seen you do the exact same thing once before. I am not a man of god, I became a priest to guide those who need it and show them the right way. Perhaps to atone for what I did in my past. I am afraid of hell, but I know I don’t belong in heaven either. But that still doesn’t stop me from doing the right thing…” Ozpin said and reached out a hand and grabbed Qrow by the shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I will not open that locker for you Qrow, if you wish to walk this path, you’ll have to make that choice yourself.”

Qrow nodded his head and swallowed hard before walking over to the locker and producing a key from his pocket. The key slid into place and turned with unnerving ease in Qrow’s hand while the lock popped away and Qrow opened the locker. Inside and across either door were several armaments. Assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, snipers, enough ammo to outfit a small strike team, enough grenades to level an apartment. The centerpiece of it all, sitting in on the shelf was a single white ballistic mask with streaks of red across its sides. Qrow cradled the mask in hand and stared into the empty eyeholes before grabbing a duffle bag from inside the locker and stuffing the mask inside. Along with the mask, he grabbed only a pistol and three magazines worth of ammunition along with a Kevlar vest. He shut the locker and considered sliding the lock into place before pausing. He knew he’d have to come back and he knew he’d have to go through this all again when he did. Still he popped the lock over the door and slung the duffle bag over his shoulder.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Ozpin said as Qrow started for the door.

“Then why don’t you try and stop me?” Qrow said without so much as turning to face Ozpin’s general direction.

“Because I don’t know what exactly you’re doing or what goes on in that head of yours and I should think I’m better off not knowing. But if it’s what it seems like, then I want you to leave the rosary I gave you here,” Ozpin said and held out an empty hand. “I’ll give it back to you once I know you haven’t given up on being a good man.”

Qrow reached inside of his shirt and pulled the cross from around his neck and looked down at the trinket and then back up to Ozpin. He tucked the pendant under his shirt and tapped his chest before turning to face Ozpin. The two men looked on at each other before Ozpin nodded in understanding. Words never said between the two were understood clear as though they said it aloud and Qrow vanished beyond the threshold of the church doorways.

Just outside the church, Emerald waited for him in the driver side of a car and rolled her eyes at the sight of him. When she noticed the bag he was carrying, she popped the trunk and Qrow dropped the bag in the back before taking his seat in the passenger side.

“Took your time in there huh?” Emerald said and shifted the car into drive and took off down the road.

“Took some time to convince myself to do this.” Qrow said.

The file given to Qrow stated that Roman was last located in northern Mexico, the last location Salem’s spies found him at was the city of Juarez. Checking the burner phone Salem gave him, Qrow checked for any updates on Roman’s location and saw that he was still there as of twenty-four hours ago. The drive to Mexico would take about thirty-six hours and while flying could be easier and faster it also drew too much attention. Even with a private air line there was still the risk of their pilot blabbing about something or their airplane catching someone’s attention on radar. On top of that there was the whole issue of Qrow’s equipment. A pistol with a few magazines and some armor was apt to make anyone nervous when trapped inside of a tube forty thousand feet in the air. For all these reasons, it was easier and safer to take the longer way there.

Emerald and Qrow spent the first eight hours of the trip in silence, nothing to keep them company beyond music, pod casts, and audio books. Qrow kept himself busy with the details of his assignment. He checked through the notes repeatedly, making it a point to check for any updates that came along with their drive. Just as they passed through Virginia, Qrow opted to take the wheel and let Emerald rest. Qrow mentioned to Emerald that they wouldn’t be staying in any hotels along the way as it would only draw attention to themselves and give anyone a means of tracking their location, so sleeping in the car was going to have to do.

Another eight ours of driving and they’d made it to Alabama and sixteen hours of silence between Qrow and Emerald looked to be enough. At least for Emerald when she decided to make conversation.

“Were in the deep south, something tells me I shouldn’t drive too much anymore unless we want to be stopped by the police every five miles.” Emerald joked and gave a nervous laugh. “You know cause I’m… you know, stereotypes.”

“Yeah, I get it…” Qrow said, putting a bit more spite to his voice than he would have liked to and knew it was from the lack of sleep. He could feel his face sag around the eyes and his joints ache with that tired feeling. It wouldn’t be so bad if he was able to walk around and stretch, but a cramped car like this didn’t give him such a luxury.

Qrow noticed the way Emerald recoiled at the way he spoke and she turned away from him. Qrow sighed and rolled out the stress in his joints as best as he could before he tried to salvage Emerald’s attempt at conversation.

“Did you have to experience that a lot?” Qrow asked and peered over at Emerald. “Racism I mean or just being discriminated against?”

“I was born and raised in the states and I’m an American citizen but people saw the dark skin and the last name and think foreigner.” Emerald said and supported her head in her hand as she looked out the window. “Sustrai, I’ll give you ten bucks if you can tell me where that’s from.”

“It’s Basque, north eastern part of Spain just on the border of France.” Qrow stated and saw the look of surprise on Emeralds face along with a question there. “I traveled a lot when I was a kid, primarily to Europe and the middle east.”

“My mom is from the middle east actually, Sudan specifically. I’m half Arabic but my dad was from Basque so that’s why I have that last name.” Emerald said.

“You mentioned you were born and raised here but your parents are from Basque and Sudan?” Qrow asked.

“They both immigrated here from Europe because my mom’s family didn’t exactly like her marrying a foreigner and having a half breed baby. They thought that America was the perfect place to raise me considering it’s a massive melting pot of cultures.” Emerald smiled at the way Qrow scoffed and rolled his eyes at this. “You get it then?”

“Best friend was Chinese and had a kid with a Welsh Irish girl and a Japanese girl, believe me half breed babies aren’t looked upon too nicely here either.” Qrow said.

“You mind if I ask you something personal?” Emerald asked.

“Only as long as you accept that I may not answer it.” Qrow said.

“Why did you join up with Salem?” Emerald asked and saw Qrow peer off towards her and cocked a brow at her. She nodded in understanding that she’d have to answer the question herself before he did. “I’m not working for Salem myself, I know that sounds weird but I’m working with Cinder more than anything. She’s the one who gave me purpose and gave me a means to provide for myself whereas everyone else would have just turned me away. Salem is just someone who signs my paychecks.”

Qrow’s burner phone chimed with a notification just before he had the chance to answer. When he checked the message, he looked surprised with the way his expression widened and just the slightest bit pleased. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and pulled off to the side of the road before sitting himself in the backseat and handing the keys off to Emerald to have her drive them the rest of the way. Qrow pulled the backrest down to grab his bag from the trunk.

“Good news and bad news, which one do you want first?” Qrow said as he slipped the Kevlar over his chest and attached a pistol holster to his thigh.

“What’s the bad news?” Emerald asked, adjusting her rear view to get a better look at what Qrow was doing.

“Bad news is there is a major change in plans, good news is the mission is being cut short. Intel says they found Roman this side of the border in Alabama, I’m forwarding his current location to you now.” Qrow said and tapped away at his phone to send the address to Emerald’s before pulling a pistol to his side and holstering it.

“If they are watching his every move why don’t they just kill him themselves?” Emerald asked as she punched the address into her GPS before driving the car towards their destination.

“I’m sure that’s what their orders are in the event I don’t pull the trigger, but if you have to ask that then it’s probably best you don’t know the answer.” Qrow said.

Their thirty-six-hour drive suddenly became just another twenty minutes as Emerald drove off to the location Qrow requested of her. The car coming to a stop at a busy down town destination. Just outside along the patio of a local café, a small girl with pink and brown hair sat with her head in her hands and her legs swinging from her seat. When she noticed a taller gentleman walk out with the aid of a cane and a plate of cake in hand, she beamed and smiled, clapping her hands as he set it down before her.

From his view in the car on the street, Qrow could make out the two as Roman Torchwick and his body guard Neo. He checked the pistol at his side, turned the safety off and then stepped out of the car just as he pulled on his mask.

“So, what’s the plan?” Emerald asked.

“You’re a hostage getaway driver and I’m going to try not to enjoy this as much as I am.” Qrow said and walked through the crowd and heard the mass of conversation around him. Many people were confused as to what was going on but did nothing to protest or stop Qrow from coming within arm’s reach or Roman.

By the time Roman noticed the masked figure standing before him, Qrow already had his fingers wrapped around his throat. With a hefty toss Qrow lifted Roman out of his seat and threw him through the café window. Some onlookers screamed, others stood in petrified silence, Qrow meanwhile kept on with his mission.

Grabbing the cane set at the table, Qrow prowled forward and saw Roman pull a gun from his coat. In favor of drawing his own, Qrow gripped the cane with two hands and swung it as hard as he could at Roman’s wrist, not only breaking the knuckles along Roman’s hand, but also disarming him in the process. The gun sliding away across the floor shrieked out in pain. His cries silenced as the cane came back around to strike him in the head, flecks of blood splattering across the floor with the blow.

Qrow reared back again, hoisting the cane high overhead and brought it down for another strike and felt the wood begin to splinter and fray. Roman held up his hands to try and catch the second blow only to have his fingers broken on his opposite hand as the blow landed hard. A third and final blow caused the cane to break over Roman’s head, leaving him beaten and bloodied on the floor while Qrow tossed the remains of the cane off to the side. It was only now he pulled his pistol from his holster and knelt before Roman, pressed the gun to his head and pulled up his mask to reveal his identity. The look of realization on Roman’s face was almost satisfying.

“Sic Semper Tyrannus…” Roman said before his head reeled back with the gunshot ringing through his skull and his blood splattered across the floor.

The crowd that amassed around the scene screamed and fled in terror while Neo waded through them before finding enough room to charge after Qrow. She only managed to get one step in front of him before another gunshot landed at her feet and she stopped herself dead in her tracks. She looked down the barrel of the pistol and saw Qrow’s face before it vanished behind the mask as he pulled it back on.

“Salem sends her regards.” Qrow said before dropping the magazine from the pistol and pulling back the slider to remove the bullet from the chamber and pulled the slider forward to dismantle the gun all together. He tossed both pieces off to either side walked through the now emptied café before stepping into the car waiting for him and gave the order to Emerald to drive. Neo and Qrow exchanged glances one last time before he drove off into the distance.

“Why did you keep her alive…?” Emerald asked, her voice shaking despite her better efforts.

“Job was to kill Roman so I did, no point in having anyone else die, now we need to drop this car off somewhere and get a new ride, think you can manage that part?” Qrow asked with such abandon as if he were asking her to pick up some groceries on her way home.

“Yeah, I think I can manage that…” Emerald said.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

After dropping off the car off at a local junkyard and getting cash under the table for scrap metal, Emerald and Qrow made it back to Remnant via the transcontinental railway. Once home, the two were happy to part ways. Qrow handed off the last of the cash they had from scrapping the car to Emerald and told her to grab a taxi. He claimed he was close enough to his home to walk the rest of the way but in all actuality, he just needed some time to himself. With a duffle bag slung over his shoulder filled with his old equipment, he took the long way home.

Qrow arrived back in Remnant around one in the afternoon, just as the sun hung over the sky. By the time he managed to get back to his apartment complex, it was nearly five in the evening. His shins ached and his feet were long since numb, but he wouldn’t have to worry about it much longer once he got home to put his feet up and just relax for a few hours.

As he sauntered along the hallway and twiddled with the keys, only looking up at the sight of movement down the hall and saw a pair of jump suited workers hauling his couch out the door. Furrowing his brows at this sight, he poked his head in to see another pair of workers hauling more furniture from his apartment along with Winter and Salem standing inside directing the workers.

“What the hell’s going on here?” Qrow asked and squeezed past the movers.

“Winter mentioned your living situation as of late and three people inside of a one-bedroom apartment is hardly accommodating. We have more than enough rooms at the manor for you and your family to stay as long as you’d like.” Salem said and smiled almost genuinely towards Qrow and continued. “I feel it’s the least I can do for you and Winter after ripping you away from your chance at a honeymoon.”

“Are you sure you two are married because it seems like his job is the one who ones the ring on his finger.” Yang said after walking out of Ruby’s room with a bag slung over her shoulder.

“It’s a job, kinda hard not to want to keep it around.” Qrow said and tightened his grip over the duffle bag slung over his shoulder once he saw the way Yang noticed it.

“You were rather quick about it too, I was hoping we could get all this furniture donated to Goodwill while you were away because unless it has any sentimentality it is not stepping foot inside of my home.” Salem said with a casual laugh.

“Okay, everything I need is all packed up!” Ruby said as she stepped out of her bedroom with her own bag with Zwei in tow. “Oh, hey Uncle Qrow, you’re back early!”

Zwei yipped in agreement and bounded over to his side. Qrow knelt and pet his fluffy head, setting his duffle down onto the floor.

“We were just talking about that,” Qrow said to Ruby and then turned to Winter. “If were moving in then we’re taking the little guy with us, he’s just as much part of our family as anyone else in this room.” Qrow said and Winter nodded in agreement.

“I’m sure Weiss won’t mind at all.” Winter said and watched Zwei sniff and paw at Qrow’s bag.

“What’s in the bag anyway, did you bring us souvenirs?” Ruby said and started to unzip the bag only to have it snatched away from her hands.

“Whoa kiddo, you do not what to open this up its filled with my dirty clothes…” Qrow stood and hoisted the bag over his shoulder and zipped it shut. He attempted a half reassuring smile towards Ruby at the sight of her worried expression and tried to laugh it off.

“I find the best thing after a long trip is to get some real food in you other than something that you’d otherwise find at a gas station, so what do you say we let the movers finish up and we all head home for some dinner?” Winter said and slipped her arm around Qrow’s and started for the door.

Everyone else chimed in agreement as they all piled out the door just as the movers returned to grab the last of the things inside the house. On their way out, Winter peered down at the duffle bag on Qrow’s shoulder and then looked back up at him silently. Qrow pursed his lips into a flat line across his face in a silent request that they’d talk about it some other time.

_~Later~_

Everyone sat around a long dining table with their meals set out before them. Salem sat at the head of the table while Winter and Qrow sat across from one another. Ruby and Yang sitting beside each of them while Wiess and Whitley joined them. The seven of them ate in silence for the most part, everyone too busy with their food to really make any attempt at conversation since Qrow, Ruby, and Yang never quite had food like this before.

As a courtesy to her situation, Salem had Yang’s food pre-sliced for her so she wouldn’t have to fiddle around with a knife and fork in the same hand when it came to cutting up her own food. Yang begrudgingly accepted this, but she didn’t protest knowing that she needed the help.

“You know all those weeks ago when we were talking about my engineering degree…?” Ruby began, her voice a timid whisper at the broaching of the subject. “Well I’ve been running some prototypes on a prosthetic with five-digit dexterity. My friend Jaune helped write the programing for it too, it’s not exactly one to one with a normal human arm but it could help with day to day stuff?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you how you’re holding up fire cracker.” Qrow said and took another bite of his food. “The phantom pain bothering you?”

“Yeah it keeps me up at night but I’m fine, I’ll get through it… can we please talk about something else?” Yang said and stared down at her food, pushing it around with her fork while her hair hung around her face to hide the expression there.

“Qrow, you’re multilingual, correct?” Salem asked.

“Farsi and Japanese are the only two I know.” Qrow said.

_“Then we will continue this conversation like this…”_ Salem said in Farsi.

_“You don’t think us speaking in a Persian language is going to make everyone else at the table a little nervous?”_ Qrow said.

_“We’ll make up some excuse later, right now I want to know why you thought it necessary to assassinate Roman in broad daylight like that?”_

 _“Would you have believed he was dead otherwise?”_ Qrow began.

_“And if this comes back around?”_ Salem asked.

_“It won’t…”_

_“If it does?”_

Qrow set down his cutlery and pushed the plate away and looked over to Salem then over to the rest of the table. Everyone kept themselves busy in their own conversations, too busy to really pay attention to the adults talking. Qrow’s eyes darted over to Winter who suddenly found something better to look at.

 _“If it does then you throw Branwen under the bus, they’ll be a fuss but they’ll be chasing what they think is a hot trail that won’t lead them anywhere.”_ Qrow said and crumpled his cloth napkin and tossed it into his plate before getting up and moving to leave the dining room. “I’m gonna get clean up and get into a change of clothes, my B.O. is starting to bother me.”

“Qrow…” Salem called and set her fork and knife onto the plate. “I hate to ask this just as you got home, but we need to talk about work. After you take a shower of course.”

“Salem, what is it you were talking about with Qrow?” Winter asked.

“I really shouldn’t say.” Salem said and excused herself from the dining table.

_~Later~_

Qrow shuffled into Salem’s study wearing a long sleeve shirt and a pair of sweat pants. The clothes accentuating the disheveled look in his face and the way he held himself with his shoulders drooping and the bags under his eyes. Without waiting for permission, he stepped over to a cabinet set beside the wall. On the top of the cabinet sat a tray along with a few crystal decanters filled with various liquors. Qrow took one of the glasses and poured himself three fingers worth of scotch and took a mouthful all at once.

“No, please by all means help yourself.” Salem said and cocked a brow over her glasses at him.

“What, do you want one?” Qrow offered and shook the bottle.

“I don’t care for alcohol so I will decline you generously offering me my own booze.” Salem said and slipped off her glasses, slipping the bow into her shirt as she stood and walked around the desk. “Are you at all familiar with the name Belladonna?”

Qrow took a swing of his drink again, using this time for consideration and to search Salem’s face. The question wasn’t rhetorical, it was genuine curiosity. He swallowed back the liquor and felt it wash over his ribs in its warmth.

“I think the name came up once, couldn’t tell you where though.” Qrow said and refreshed his drink with another pour of scotch.

“You know it’s funny how things come full circle, or at least how ironic this really is.” Salem said and paused for a moment.

“What do you mean?” Qrow felt his heart stop in his chest. All at once his hearing dulled and the blood in his face felt like it was beginning to pool, all while he attempted to keep his eyes steady on Salem while she spoke, waiting for her to elucidate.

“Dust has been going missing from my transports again and it’s not by my hand and to make matters worse I don’t know if it’s because of the person I hired to do it to begin with.” Salem said.

“Adam?” Qrow asked and Salem nodded. “You own the formula for Dust why go through all the trouble of having him steal it for you?”

“You used to be a police officer, you tell me…” Salem said and watched the gears turn in Qrow’s head before he nodded in understanding and took another swig of his drink.

“Plausible deniability, Dust is winding up on the streets and if someone figures out whose doing it you just throw Adam under the bus. Like an animal chewing off its own leg.” Qrow said.

“More like a tree losing a branch, I have many, many more people to take his place and I need to know if that’s what I should do.” Salem said.

“So, you think he’s stealing from what he already stole from the transports and you think this Belladonna person is behind it?” Qrow asked.

“Belladonna is a family name, a rather prestigious one at that and they’ve thus far been the only people to stand in my way when it comes to shipping Dust across the world. They’re a Japanese family with their fingers in most of Asia. Any attempt Jacques made in trying to push his boundaries further was stopped rather swiftly by the local families that held power in Japan. Adam and his Taurus family were easy enough to convince, but the Belladonna’s refused to even speak to Jacques or myself, I fear that the Taurus family’s prior bonds with the Belladonna’s may have influenced him.” Salem said.

“This is all pretty baseless and maybe even a little paranoid.” Qrow said.

“I thought you might say that,” Salem said and flipped open her laptop on her desk, tapped away at the keys and turned around the computer to show a few still images of a black flame spray painted over the deck of a ship. “It’s easy enough to ship pure Dust into the region via traditional smuggling techniques, but every single one I’ve tried sending has either gone missing or I’ve found them like this. Obviously neither public knows about this since we are the only people who need to know about it, but it’s clear to me that Belladonna has sent a message that they don’t want me in Japan. Quite frankly, I don’t want them in there anymore either.”

“Where do I come into this assignment?” Qrow asked, his words slurring more than he’d like as the drink and the buzz took hold of his mind and body.

“I’ll send you all the details to the usual place, but the gist if it is that you’ll be sent in as a contingency. You and Adam will be heading off to Japan within the week, Adam has been given his own assignment but you will be there to figure out just how Belladonna managed to know where my smugglers were going to be and if my suspicions about Adam were correct.” Salem said.

“I’ll have to brush up on my Japanese then, pretty sure gaijin still means stupid foreigner.” Qrow said with a scoff to himself as he started for the door. “Give me a few day or two to work out a plan and you can consider the job done.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Salem said with a certain smile to her voice.

Qrow paid no mind to it and stepped out of the study and shuffled along the hallways of the manor back to his bedroom. As the minutes stretched by, the alcohol took more of a hold of his mind and kept all other thoughts at bay. He knew to enjoy it while it lasted while also fighting the aching in his bones at the craving for more or at least enough to maintain this buzz. Instead, he opened for some proper sleep in a proper bed instead of falling asleep on an uncomfortable chair of a car or a train.

When he stepped into his bedroom, he felt a hard thud hit his chest and looked up to see Winter standing there with a glare in her eyes and a grimace pursing her lips. Qrow looked down at the hand she forced up against his chest and saw his ballistic mask in hand and then looked back up at her with slack jawed horror.

 _“I spent a year in Dubai…”_ Winter said in Farsi.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

Qrow sat with his back to the wall of a C 130 aircraft. The constant jostling of the plane as it flew across the pacific was almost comforting in a sort of nostalgic way. More than once he’d flown on a plane like this with Raven sitting right beside him. The two of them sleeping soundly right beside one another with Raven’s head resting on Qrow’s shoulder. The two of them spent so much time inside of aircraft like these that it was almost impossible for them to get a decent sleep any other way. That was years ago however, and while the jostling might be of comfort to Qrow, it was the biggest thing keeping him awake right now. That and a red headed psychopath by the name of Adam Taurus sitting across from him.

His constant unblinking eyes trained on Qrow for the entire flight like he was trying to memorize every little detail of Qrow’s body right down to the pores. The staring didn’t so much make Qrow nervous as it just annoyed him. Though it also didn’t hurt to keep a hand on the pistol in his thigh holster through the brunt of the ride.

When the pilot opened the cockpit door and shouted back to them that they were nearly to their destination, Qrow’s mind snapped into a pregame routine.

“Mic check, mic check?” Qrow said, holding his index finger and thumb along the microphone mounted around his neck like a collar. A wire led from the microphone collar to an ear piece where Salem responded.

“The channel is all clear, I can hear you Qrow.” Salem said over their radio. “Adam, sound off I need to know you can hear me.”

“I’m here.” Adam said, his voice curt and almost annoyed. “Why are we bothering with this much formality on what is supposed to be a simple assassination job?”

“Because we’re only going to have one shot at this and we need to get it right the first time so we do things my way and that means we follow standard two-man protocol.” Qrow said and narrowed his eyes at Adam.

“Speaking of which,” Salem interjected as if knowing any response from Adam was apt to start a fight. “I want you to go through the plan one last time before you drop.”

“Adam and I will perform a high-altitude low opening drop into Japanese air space at forty-five thousand feet and deploy our chutes when we are less than four thousand feet from our target landing zone.” Qrow said. “The target landing zone being the top floor pent house of the Belladonna clan where we will terminate the targets Kali, Ghira and Blake with extreme prejudice. After we have a confirmation on the bodies, Adam and I will perform a Fulton extraction with our transport.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear you have everything squared away then, you may proceed with the operation.” Salem said.

Qrow switched off his mic and saw Adam do the same. The microphones wouldn’t do them any good when they were falling from the lower stratosphere at terminal velocity. Qrow checked his equipment one last time. The only thing he took with him was a pistol and a few rounds of ammunition knowing he wouldn’t need more than that even if things didn’t go as planned. The only armor he wore was his ballistic vest around his chest and light padding around his body. The final piece was his mask. He didn’t bother putting it on just yet since it wouldn’t fit over the breathing mask he’d need to wear when dropping.

A light along the side of the wall flashed from red to yellow, warning Adam and Qrow that they were going to drop soon and thus prompted them to suit up. Both men slipped into thermal jumpsuits and gloves to protect their skin from the temperature of high altitude while also slipping on an air tight helmet and breathing mask. The helmet always struck Qrow as a little odd given the circumstances. It was understandable that anyone doing a HALO drop would need to protect their face but the padding seemed unnecessary since if you really needed it, protecting your skull probably wasn’t a larger priority. He laughed at himself for thinking this and shook his head, knowing his gallows humor would be lost on Adam who just went on to check his equipment once and then twice. Qrow did the same with his own after he slipped on his parachute.

The light on the side of the plane flashed green and the hydraulic hatch at the end of the plane hummed as it opened. The pressure change forced all the air inside of the cargo area out of the plane leaving it frigid as a tomb. Not willing to stand on ceremony, Qrow took a running start and jumped from the back of the plane and saw the vast expanse of the Japanese skyline stretched out before him. At his current altitude, he could still trace his line of sight along both cost lines and still see the vague shape of the continent along the curve of the earth’s surface. It was something else and something he wished he could enjoy more.

Snapping his mind into focus, Qrow folded his arms to his sides and kept his legs together to reduce drag as much as possible. His body cut through the air as he hurtled towards the ground and the altimeter on the side of his helmet dropped so quickly the fourth digit mark looked like it was counting off the seconds. Adam synced up with him as the two approached their target. Among the skyline there was a small island atop a pedestal that was a skyscraper, the lush green grass and the blue hue of the pond marking their bullseye.

With the target being this small, that didn’t leave either of them room for error. As they continued to drop and the ground rushed up to meet them, Qrow yanked on his chute just as Adam did. The wind inflated the chute and slowed their decent with enough speed to threaten to rip their arms out of their sockets, but it gave them enough time to float on by and land just on the outer edge of plateau of the pent house.

After landing, Qrow was more than happy to strip off his jump suit and helmet in favor of his mask. Adam doing the same after he landed less than a few feet away from Qrow who nodded in approval in his accuracy. He checked his weapon one last time and clicked on his radio to communicate with Adam and Salem.

“Secondary check, Robin and Red Bull have landed successfully, proceeding with the mission.” Qrow said over his coms.

“Roger that Robin, proceed with caution, Red Bull can you confirm your landing?” Salem asked over the coms.

“Confirmed, proceeding into the-” Adam began but his mic cut out with a sudden boom while Adam was blinded by a flash of light. The cause of the concussive blast of the flash grenade was enough to disorientate the two men who now stood there temporarily blind and deaf.

Qrow felt a hand at his wrist and tried to yank away only to have his footing swept out from under him. He fell to the ground with a hard thud which hadn’t helped the ringing in his ears nor the headache induced by the prior blast. Both of his wrists were pulled behind him and forced to the small of his back where the full body weight of someone forced themselves down onto his back and pinned him to the ground with their knee. The feeling of a gun barrel digging into Qrow’s head forced him to stay still with his face digging into the grass. The ringing in Qrow’s ears faded in time for him to hear the orders of his assailant.

“Stay on the ground, do not move!” The man above Qrow said as he dug his pistol barrel into Qrow’s skull.

Qrow looked off to the side and saw Adam subjected to the same treatment, the soldiers struggling to get a proper grasp on him while three more men pinned him down and pointed a gun at his head. With this, a semblance of better judgment took over and Adam sat still. Before the two men could even think to say anything more, the soldiers hoisted them up and dragged them into the center of the yard where a tall beast of a man stood at his back porch. Ghira Belladonna, stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest and a look of disdain on his face like a snarling lion.

“Salem… we’ve been compromised, they were waiting for us.” Qrow whispered over his radio, nerves showing in his voice. The response back was a swift click as the channel went dead. “Salem… Salem!?”

“Take off their masks, let’s see what sort of rabble fell from the sky this time.” Ghira ordered and his men wrenched off Qrow’s mask. The two men regarded one another for a moment and Ghira just nodded his head with a deep sigh. “I can understand why Adam of all people would be here, but you Qrow? I’m not sure what I’m more insulted by, the fact that someone sent you to kill me or the fact that you accepted whatever offer they made to you.”

“How’d you know we were coming anyway?” Qrow asked and winced when the officer behind him jabbed his pistol into Qrow’s back. The officer ordering Qrow to keep quiet. Qrow looked over his shoulder at the officer and snarled at him before turning back to Ghira and holding up his hands beside his head. He closed his fingers around his palm, leaving his thumb pointing towards himself before his hand relaxed and laid flat again.

Ghira nodded in understanding and gestured his men towards Qrow and Adam, ordering them in Japanese to take off the collars around their necks, explaining that they still had radios on them. When the officers removed the microphone collars and handed off to Ghira, he dropped them at his feet and dug his heel into each receiver, smashing them to bits and rendering them useless.

“You are free to take Adam Taurus, the other one stays here, I have some questions for him.” Ghira said and waved his men away.

The officers took their time to search every bit of Adam, disarming him of every single weapon he could possibly use before finally cuffing his hands behind his back with a pair of zip ties and pulling him off his feet to carry him from the premise. It took four men in total, one on each arm one on each leg and a fifth man behind them to escort Adam away. He didn’t fight or make any attempts at a protest, but Qrow knew that this level of caution would not be something Ghira was apt to do just for the sake of protocol.

When the guards left Ghira and Qrow alone in the yard, Qrow picked up his mask and walked over to the porch and took a seat. Ghira eased himself down to sit beside him and watch as Qrow’s eyes locked into the empty sockets of the mask in his hands. Qrow’s thumb traced along the mask’s façade, feeling across the contours and scratches that appeared over years of use and then turned to Ghira.

“I really wish we were meeting under better circumstances.” Qrow said.

“Believe me when I say that I feel the same, do you have a plan?” Ghira asked.

“I have an idea?” Qrow said.

_~Later~_

Salem sat at her desk in Schnee tower with a head set still wrapped around her ears and a lap top sitting before her. Her hands tented before her face as she stared on at the screen with the words Connection Lost across it before another notification called across the screen. Someone was calling for a video call, the name on the caller ID read Ghira Belladonna while a picture of his family crest sat in place of an avatar. Salem let the call ring for a moment while she attempted to compose herself and think of something to say. After a solid minute, she clicked the answer call button and sat back in her chair.

“Ghira, to what do I owe the honor?” Salem said, putting as much fake enthusiasm to her voice as she always did when dealing with prior business partners.

“Salem, I’d say it’s nice to hear your voice again if not for the fact that I found something of yours on my lawn…” Ghira said from the other end and turned on the camera to show his face before stepping off to the side and showing Qrow kneeling in the ground with his hands bound behind his back. “Now what exactly was your son-in-law doing dropping in at this time and armed to the teeth no less?”

“I could ask him the same thing, I am equally as appalled as-” Salem began.

“That’s quite enough, you know I don’t believe you and lying to me now is just adding insult to injury.” Ghira interjected and stood, walking over to Qrow and grabbing a handful of hair as he yanked him over to the computer camera. “He wasn’t alone either, that Taurus boy was with him and currently in police custody so why don’t you tell me what is going on here and what exactly you were planning.”

“I’m so sorry Ghira but I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, my son is a very troubled man and you must understand that his actions are not representative of mine or my family’s.” Salem said with feigned shock to her voice.

In response, Ghira rolled his eyes and sighed before shoving Qrow away and stepping in front of the camera again.

“If you insist on insulting me then you’ll leave me no choice to do this, you and I are very well aware of where we stand in the world stage and we both know that information is the currency of the underground. I’d imagine your son knows just enough about you to convict you in a Japanese court of law and what do you think will happen when you inevitably lose that court case?” Ghira said and paused for a moment, allowing Salem to ponder this. “Tell me what it is your assassin is doing here Salem and perhaps we can work something out.”

Salem tapped her fingers across the desk and sat in silence. She weighed her options now and thought it over. Japan was known for having a ninety percent conviction rate. If she was tried, she’d be found guilty and her plans up to this point would go up in smoke while the next in the family line would take over. She wasn’t about to leave anything up to chance let alone let someone else try and run things. She took a deep breath, held it in in and exhaled before running a hand along her forehead.

“What is it going to take to keep you quiet about this?” Salem asked.

“Perhaps we can schedule a merger between the companies I own and your own company.” Ghira said. “I’m well aware of the product you keep trying to bring into my country and I should think that there would be a far easier way to distribute it throughout. I’d be willing to do so for a fifty-fifty cut. What do you say Salem?”

“I’d say…” Salem sighed again and shook her head. “I’d I’m impressed and I’d also go as far as to say I’m an absolute fool to have tried this to begin with, perhaps diplomacy is the right way to go. You have yourself a deal Ghira.” Salem said and hung up the call leaving Ghira and Qrow alone with the lap top in front of them.

After Ghira closed the laptop, he sighed and turned towards Qrow and ran a hand across the man’s head with a nervous chuckle.

“Sorry for rough housing you there.” Ghira said.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure I can comb over the bald spot you made.” Qrow said and chuckled with Ghira. “Do you think this will work?”

“I think time is off the essence from here on out, Salem isn’t one to be on the other end of things, she’d take that information we had and use it against us in an American court of law. Taking a hostage and demanding a ransom is more than enough to draw the right attention in her favor.” Ghira said.

“Then I need to get back to Remnant as soon as possible and as quietly as possible.” Qrow said.

“I have a private jet you can take, I’ll have a helicopter take you to the air field, is there anything else you might need?” Ghira offered.

“That depends, how do you feel about my family coming to visit?” Qrow asked with a smirk and a scoff.

“You know Kali loves guests.” Ghira smiled back and slapped Qrow’s back.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Qrow sat in the personal jet loaned out to him by the Belladonna’s and found the ride to be far more hospitable than the C 130 he’d arrived in while the company was much the same. Blake sat beside him, back stiff and straight with her hands in her back as she stared on ahead of her with a blank look to her eyes. Ghira sent her with as a means of protection, knowing that she was, out of the whole clan, easily the most skilled fighter. Qrow could hold his own in a fight and he knew that, but having someone else to watch his back was also nice.

Beyond that however, he couldn’t shake the thought of the meeting they’d have once they touched down in the next hour or so.

“You nervous?” Qrow asked and watched Blake’s shoulders drop and her head wilt to the side.

“You’re the one pulling off one of the biggest sting operations in the world right now and you’re asking me if I’m nervous?” Blake said with a joking tone that was all to forced.

“I know what I’m doing and what I’m in for, but do you?” Qrow asked.

Blake didn’t say a word and only bowed her head in consideration. The two of them knew what was going to be waiting for them once they landed. Or in the case of Blake, it was more of a who.

After another hour of flying around, the jet landed at a local airport and before the doors to their plane opened, a pair of cars sat waiting for them. One of them being a police cruiser and the other a nondescript black car.

“Show time…” Qrow said and tapped Blake’s side before stepping down the stairs of the plane, Blake following close behind with her eyes trained on the horizon.

Glynda stepped out of the cruiser with her hat held under her arm and a dower look about her face. From the other car Winter joined her with much the same expression. Along with the two women, Weiss, Whitley, Ruby and finally Yang stepped out.

“Uncle Qrow what’s going on here?” Yang asked as her eyes darted over towards Blake then back to Qrow.

“The less you know the better, I just need to get all of you out of the states for a while alright?” Qrow said and looked between Blake and Yang. “You three get on board now, I think these two need to have a moment real quick.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Ruby asked Qrow who just ruffled her hair and smiled.

“Yeah I’m gonna be alright, now just make sure your sister stays alright while I’m… while you’re away.” Qrow said and staggered back at how suddenly Ruby jumped into his arms to embrace him before hopping down and walking into the plane with Wiess and Whitley.

“Yang I-” Blake began.

“Don’t…” Yang snapped and shook her head. She palmed over the stump where her arm used to be and looked off to the side in consideration before turning to face Blake. “You said you didn’t want to marry me because you didn’t want to give me the life of a mafia or yakuza or whatever heiress, if you don’t want to marry me then fine but last I checked that doesn’t mean we can’t be together. I don’t know about you but I’m not done with you yet, the girl I fell in love with is still the girl who sat behind the counter and gave me a beer on the house after I stumbled in covered in bruises and welts. The girl I still love is the one who let me stay with her because I didn’t have anywhere else to go when I was in California.” Yang said and stomped forward, wrapped her arm around Blake’s waist and pressed her lips hard and passionately against Blake’s and felt her recoil in shock before relaxing into her strong embrace. Blake’s hands cupping Yang’s cheeks while the two shared a kiss together and parted with a renewed look in their eyes.

“Marry me…” Blake whispered, holding Yang’s head in her hands and smiling at the feel of her arm tightening around her waist.

“Yes…” Yang replied and kissed her again.

“Come on you two on the plane we don’t have much time!” Winter snapped and pushed the two of them aboard. “And enjoy the honeymoon for me too would you?” Winter said with a joking smile.

Yang nodded and smirked at Winter before taking Blake’s hand and stepping aboard the plane.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this Qrow?” Glynda asked as she stepped up beside Winter. “As far as I’m concerned you could hop on that plane now and just disappear into whatever country you want, live a happy life somewhere else, raise your child with your wife…”

“Yeah I know I could,” Qrow said and pulled the rosary from around his neck. “But the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing…”

“Fine, but I want to hear you say it…” Glynda said and produced a pair of handcuffs from her belt.

“My name is Qrow Branwen and I murdered Roman Torchwick.” Qrow said and held out his wrists.

“You have the right to remain silent,” Glynda said and secured the cuffs around his wrists. “If you refuse that right anything you say or do will be used against you in a court of law…”

_~Later~_

Glynda walked through the Schnee manor, escorted through the halls by Winter herself till the two women reached a pair of double doors that led into Salem’s study. When the doors parted, Glynda stepped inside, flanked on either side by her officers. Salem looked on at the intrusion and cocked a brow at her new guests before standing and stepping around her desk.

“Chief Goodwitch, always a pleasure to see Remnant’s finest here, but I’m curious as to why you’re here.” Salem said.

“Salem Schnee, you’re under arrest for being an accessory to murder and conspiracy to commit the murder of Roman Torchwick, Ghira Belladonna, as well as multiple accounts of racketeering. Please come with us quietly or we will use force.” Glynda snapped and tried her best not to smile with the look of shock and rage that came over Salem’s face.

“Very well…” Salem said through grinding teeth and stepped forward to allow the officer to cuff her wrists. “But I assure you I had nothing to do with this.”

“Then you won’t mind proving it in a court of law, now will you?” Glynda said nod waved off her officers to take Salem away.

It would be another week before the court hearing and with that week came a nonstop barrage from all news outlets. The current CEO of Schnee’s many companies was going on trial for the murder of Roman Torchwick and the attempted murder of the Belladonna clan. Overseas, the Japanese legal system convicted Adam Taurus of his own crimes and sentenced to life in prison. The incriminating link between these two events coming in the form of an audio and video file wherein the former police offer Qrow Branwen and Salem Schnee went over their plan to assassinate the Belladonna clan. The video file coming in the form of Ghira Belladonna’s call with Salem Schnee wherein she admitted to the attempted murder as well as gave enough evidence to convict her of conspiracy of drug trafficking.

The world was a buzz, but on the date of the trial, everyone held their breath as to what was to happen next. Military escorts ensured that all parties made it to the trial on time and safely. The two offending parties, Qrow and Salem, were brought in wearing cuffs around their wrists and sat beside each other. The audience behind them rambled and talked amongst themselves. Whispers of conspiracies could be heard among the crowds while Qrow and Salem listened and waited. There was a short time before the trial would begin and thus left the two of them enough time to compose themselves.

“I don’t about you Qrow but I plan on representing myself and only myself during this trial and when I get out of this you better pray that they lock you inside of a hole in the deepest parts of the ocean because I will find you any other way… or perhaps I’ll just take it out on someone I can get to.” Salem said, her voice a low growl.

“It’s going to be pretty hard to find them if they’re no longer in the states don’t you think?” Qrow said and turned to Salem with a smirk and a scoff before turning forward at the order to rise for the judge that would stand over their trial.

The trial began early in the morning and went on for another twelve hours. Qrow pled guilty to the murder of Roman Torchwick and the attempted murder of Ghira Belladonna. Salem pled not guilty to any of the crimes they tried to pin on her and the reminder of the trial was spent proving this. Repeatedly as Salem tried to weasel her way out of a solid conviction, more evidence was brought forward to convict her.

First it was Neo who took the stand and explained what she’d witnessed using her sign language and someone to translate. She admitted to the crimes Roman formerly committed under the command of Salem and her agenda. This included drug trafficking, dealing, and human trafficking as well while explaining the words Qrow said to her on the day Roman was murdered. Salem sends her regards.

Next was the attempted murder of Ghira Belladonna who took the stand himself in the form of a video call from Japan and explained his own situation. Even handing over his files as to the call the two shared about the incident, further convicting her of orchestrating an attempted murder as well as drug trafficking in Japan.

Salem tried to dismiss this saying there was no proof or evidence they had to these accusations just till her step daughter took the stand next. Winter Schnee, as partial owner of the Schnee company had the rights to any and all data pertaining to the company and brought it forward when testifying against Salem. The records in the data showed that Jacques moved to cover up any published papers pertaining to the substance known as Dust or its addictive effects therein. On top of that, any and all assignments sent out to Salem’s cabal were saved in some document or another with payments made out to multiple individuals in massive sums of money.

It was that third and final strike that sent Salem reeling over the edge into a complete conviction of her crimes. Throughout it all, she remained calm and collected though just till she rose and drew in a breath, her shoulders hitching high and dropping once she exhaled.

“Your honor, if I may be so bold, I’d like to make one final statement.” Salem requested.

“Don’t you think you should quit while you’re behind?” Qrow asked and smirked at the way everyone in the court room chuckled.

“I’ll allow it, you may proceed Ms. Schnee but know that I reserve the right to silence you at any time.” The judge stated and nodded to Salem to continue.

“Drugs are a rampant problem in not only the united states but around the world. While America may have tried to take the moral high ground on this issue by declaring a war on drugs, just like war it has only bred more conflict and bloodshed with no signs or hope of peace in sight. The only thing the war on drugs has done is create an easier way for illegal substances to get into the states and around the world because dealers learn from their mistakes and work around any and all attempts to stop them. In doing so as well, they’ve only made more potent, more addictive, and deadlier versions of these drugs that now rule the market while our prisons fill up increasingly with their customer base and their own employees.

“What I did was far from right, what I did was try to control the beast that was the drug market by taking that very substance we all know as Dust and add it to every last drug on the face of this earth. With its addictive properties I hoped to hold a monopoly over the drug trade to mitigate the damage dealt to the world and is economy and I knew what it was capable of, my husband knew what it was capable of and yes I orchestrated his murder as well because he was narrow minded, greedy, and an outright moron for not seeing what this could do. I realize that in its purest form, Dust could erode the mind and turning people into these horrific monsters we call Grimm, but I was responsible enough to clean up after myself. Yes I dealt in human trafficking and what I did with these Grimm was kill them en mass because they had no hope and no place in our society anymore. I removed a parasite from the prison system, I removed a monster from the streets, I bare this cross and go to Calvary Hill because I was willing to do something no one else was… I was willing to become a monster to kill another monster. If that makes me the villain then I will accept my punishment from the full extent of the law. Just know that at least I tried…”

No one had anything more to say after Salem finished her speech. The buzzing of the lights overhead was the only sound anyone heard while many sat in slack jawed horror at what they’d just listened to. The silence only broken by the sound of a gavel pounding onto the judge’s desk to call attention.

“Salem Schnee, Qrow Branwen, I hereby sentence both of you to life in prison for the crimes you have both committed with no chance of parole and no bail. Court is dismissed.” The judge said and slammed the gavel again to dismiss everyone. Salem and Qrow were both taken away in chains and sent to different prisons to wait out the rest of their lives behind bars.

_~Five Years Later~_

Shortly after the trial, Schnee stocks took a dive as no one wanted to be associated with the company. As they fell deeper and deeper into debt, it seemed like the once prestigious family would crumble into nothingness and bankruptcy just till someone took the helm and saved the family name.

Winter took her position as head of the family and company while Wiess put in a good word with her sister for Ruby and Jaune to approve their new technology. A series of affordable, full dexterity cybernetic prosthetics were ready to be shipped across America under the Schnee name. With a little bit of a push, the FDA approved the new technology for human use. The technology only really taking off after a few year hiatus, Yang Xiao Long came back into the spotlight sporting one of these full dexterity prosthetics and even went on to become the sole mascot for such a technology. With help overseas from an influential family in Japan, they were able to corner the world market on this affordable technology and distribute it to the masses while paving the way for Schnee Technical to rise from the ashes of Schnee Pharmaceutical.

Qrow meanwhile watched all of this happened through the screen of the TV he was given access to for one hour a day and couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride in his chest as the years went on without him. His stay for the past five years was hardly lonely, even though he was given a cell to himself after causing and ending several riots in the yard. The company he afforded himself was that of his family on visiting day with Ruby and Yang coming to visit him every single day. His wife however, always seemed to be absent. Though Qrow hardly faulted Winter for not visiting, knowing running a company was apt to keep her busy.

It was on the fifth year that Qrow received an interesting visit to his cell. A grey haired priest waited for him on the other end of the bars and the two men regarded each other with a smile.

“Qrow Branwen,” The guard standing next to Ozpin said. “Your casefile has been reviewed and you are henceforth free to go.” The guard said and unlocked Qrow’s cell door.

Qrow, while shocked and confused, wasn’t about to wait for an explanation, he’d rather get it on his way out of the prison. As he walked with Ozpin through prison, the two were given time to talk.

“I could not be more proud of you, I want you to know that.” Ozpin said and peered over at Qrow who just smirked and laughed at the comment.

“Yeah I thought you’d get a kick out of this plan but this wasn’t part of it.” Qrow said.

“If that’s the way you feel I can take you back to your cell.” Ozpin said and smiled with Qrow at the jab. “You know I still have a bit of say in the CIA, I know its been a few years since I’ve been your handler but let me tell you if I started doing hail marries right now and didn’t stop till the end of time I wouldn’t have enough to make up for the amount of lies I had to tell the American government about how this was all part of our master plan and how we definitely knew about this the whole time.”

“I guess I owe you one Oz.” Qrow said as he got his belongings back. It was no more than the clothes he’d arrived in and the very same he was more than happy to slip back into after five years of wearing the same jump suit. The final piece was the rosary he was thankful to see was still there and one he would wear as a free man once again.

“You owe me more than that, but we can worry about that later, right now I have someone who’d like to speak with you.” Ozpin said as he walked with Qrow out the font door of the prison and saw Winter standing at a car with a little girl standing just before her.

The girl had shining silver hair and the biggest purple eyes he’d ever seen. Her complexion was fair and she held a light to her that made Qrow realize just who she was and fall in love all at once. Winter knelt down beside the girl and whispered something in her ear. Qrow watched as her eyes lit up and she gasped before running over to Qrow with her arms stretched out to meet him.

“DADDY!” She shouted and jumped into Qrow’s arms and held onto him as tight as she could while she kissed his cheek and nuzzled her face into his scruff. “Mommy tells me your my dad, my name is Dove, and I’m four year old but I turn five real soon which means you can come to my birthday party and, and…” Dove paused and cocked her head to the side and placed her hands at Qrow’s cheeks, feeling the tears wash over his face. “Daddy, whats wrong? Why are you crying? Are you sad?”

“No sweetie…” Qrow said and covered his mouth before palming the tears away and swallowing hard. “No I’m just so happy I finally get to meet you.”

“I’m happy to meet you too daddy!” Dove said and pecked a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m glad to have you back too Qrow.” Winter said and came up beside Qrow and clutched his hand in hers. “Now come on, let’s go home so you can make up for being gone for the past five years.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's back after I tried and failed to make this into an original novel.


End file.
